Bittersweet
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: seq. to Prochaic Knowledge. Archival of the Summon Spirit Seals is put on hold as Caleb and Wren deal with warnings of a new Dark Chef plot. But forbidden knowledge is more coveted this time, and the Wonder Organization is slowly splitting apart....
1. Chapter 1

Ch 1

The city of Triet was unaffected by the sandstorm that had taken Caleb and Pepper by surprise when they investigated the Seal of Fire. Soon joined by the Wonder Chef, Adam Voraci, (best known to Caleb as Wren), the automatic doll with a soul and Peppermint FireBlossom, the mana beast he rescued and raised from an egg, set out to follow up on rumors that the Dark Chef Alliance had a new scheme to claim mastery over the cooking world. With increasing knowledge over the past of Symphonia, Caleb finds himself searching for ways to store all the information in the world and keep it safe. As one of the newly reborn race of mana beasts, Pepper is quickly become more powerful than the rest of her brethren, having to face dangers and fight battles none of the other clans have ever had to face. And with the lingering doubts of his failures to perform satisfactorily weighing heavily on his mind, Wren continues to question his ability to fully resume his role as Wonder Chef.

All of this affects the three friends as they make their way to the heart of the city in search of the Dark Chef called Ginger Spicewood, a young woman who infiltrated the Wonder Organization and stole many of their recipes and secrets for the Dark Chefs' use. The rumor that the Alliance was planning another insidiously insipid plot to steal the greatest secret in the culinary world, the Ultimate Recipe, was told to Caleb by Ginger, who in return alerted Wren. They turned their quest from searching out Summon Spirit Seals to seeking a way to stop the Dark Chefs.

"You'd think they'd have fixed that floor in the Mirage by now." Wren grumbled irritably, still rubbing the seat of his pants as he and his friends walked the streets of Triet.

"It's not easy to import wood into Triet." Caleb told him with a smirk, "And it really doesn't help that you keep teleporting us there when you could just make a new teleportation link elsewhere in Triet. Are you sure you don't need a quick hit of _First Aid_?"

"I'll be fine." Wren muttered and looked around. "So, how should we go about looking for Ginger? Should we split up and look for her?" He sounded almost hopeful.

"Great idea, Wren. How about I tie you up first and make it that much easier for her to drag you off to the Dark Chefs again?" Caleb added sarcastically, "I'm not letting you wander off alone. Not with Dark Chefs like her trolling all over Symphonia." Pepper clacked and circled around them, trying hard to be noticed. "Pepper has been getting better with her mental probes. We can just have her do a city scan of Triet." the doll remarked brightly and the mana beast cheered by whistling and flapping her wings, unaware of the amount of sand that was kicked up.

"There's a ton of people in Triet. How is one mana beast gonna pick out a Dark Chef spy in all this?" Wren asked sourly. Caleb grinned at him.

"Simple! She should look for the one who wants to get cookin' with you!" he joked. Wren looked blankly back at him.

"Why would a Dark Chef want to cook anything with me? We're mortal enemies." he asked in confusion. Caleb gave him a droll expression.

"You are _such_ a virgin." he muttered and sighed, waving his hand along, "Come on, Pepper. Do a mental probe of every woman in Triet. Try to keep them from knowing they're being searched." Wren blinked and hurried after the two as they began walking off down one street.

"Hey! Wait up! What did you mean, Caleb?!" he cried.

--

A mana beast of mainly Ascension power, Pepper had a great deal of psychic and telekinetic abilities, one of which was a mental probe that allowed her to pull thoughts and images from a human's mind as well as implant a few of her own making. She practiced her abilities on Caleb and Wren, though the Wonder Chef often made the error of resisting her mental probing, which resulted in headaches, nosebleeds and a great deal of panicking from both men. It was with this ability that the three friends began to search Triet for Ginger Spicewood, the candy-maker spy.

"I still think it would be easier to split up." Wren murmured as Pepper kept her eyes closed, allowing herself to be led along by the doll as she walked with them.

"And I still think it would have been better if you just stayed home." Caleb muttered, "Now keep your eyes open for that spy. You remember what she looks like, right?"

"Yeah, yeah." Wren grumbled, "Black hair, shoulder-length, brown eyes like lightly toasted almonds, looks like she's been permanently covered in flour, and that same lousy Dark Chef uniform modified pretty heavily..."

"That's more detail than I'd like to know, Wren."

"You asked me if I remembered what she looked like!" the chef declared incredulously, "And if you call me 'virgin' one more time, I'm hitting you with this fork!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!" Caleb remarked with a shrug and smile, "Touchy!" He remained silent for a while, leading Pepper along as the three friends continued their sweep of the city. Every now and then he'd glance over at the blonde, still grinning. Wren stayed quiet, staring down at his feet and trying very hard to look normal. "So..."

"I mean it! I'm gonna hit you if you say it!" Wren yelled, face turning deep pink.

"Do you realize how many people are staring at us right now? Yelling about your lack of a love life isn't helping." Caleb pointed out matter-of-factly.

"I do **not** have a lack of love life!" Wren hissed, "And I bet I can find Ginger first!"

"All right. Loser cooks dinner." Caleb sighed, shaking his head as Wren shouted his agreement and dashed off, "How do I get myself into these messes?"

* * *

Wren walked the streets on his own, mentally ordering his heart to calm down and hoping his face wasn't as red as he thought it might be. He really liked his friend, Caleb, but sometimes the doll just got on his nerves. How Caleb could manage to find and touch off on the most sensitive of subjects he probably would never know, but he did and oddly enough it would drive the Wonder Chef up the wall.

"I don't think I acted this way before I lost my memories." he sighed, "So what's wrong with me? I can't cook right, I let my emotions get the better of me..." Wren shook his head. "It's stress. I need a vacation." A bent and cloaked figure sitting on a battered, dirty mat up ahead held out a hand, pleading for money.

"Alms...!" the wretched old woman begged in a scratchy voice, "Alms for the poor...! Please...! Help an old woman live one more day...!" Wren stopped and watched her move her hand from one passerby to another, a sorrowful expression on his face. This was one of the many reasons why the Wonder Organization existed. He hurried up and knelt before the woman, a cheerful smile on his face.

"Hello, ma'am! Don't worry! I'll help you out!" he assured the cloaked beggar as her head bobbed and trembled with age.

"Oh, thank ye, young'un... I've been so very hungry..." she wheezed as Wren pulled out ingredients and began putting together a few quick rice balls. "Such a kind boy..."

"Here you are! This should do for now. I'll get you into a safe-house courtesy of the Wonder Organization." Wren remarked cheerfully, holding out the plate of rice balls. The woman coughed and reached out.

"Thankee, young'un... Such a kind boy... such a kind..." she breathed and suddenly grabbed Wren's arm with a youthful hand, "...stupid boy!" Wren cried in surprise, dropping the plate as he tried to jerk away. The cloaked head lifted, revealing Ginger's grinning face. "It's been too long, little Wonder Chef. You know, you really ought to watch who you're feeding these days." she purred.

"Let me go." Wren whispered, staring at her with wide eyes. The young woman smiled almost cattily, eyes glittering with barely controlled glee.

"Now why would I do a silly thing like that? Considering the reward I could get by taking you in, I'd have to be _insane_ to let you go." Ginger murmured. Wren sighed and closed his eyes.

"All right. What do you want? For me to just surrender and let you haul me off to your master? I can tell you right now, it's not gonna happen." he muttered.

"Too bad. But, I never had any intention of taking you to DuGorge." Ginger answered and winked, "Come on. I didn't go to all the trouble of staking this place out just to let that idiot wannabe get all the glory and credit for nabbing you." Wren glared at her. "Look, if you don't decide to go running off on me, or chuck some stupid old-timer's recipe at me, then I'll let you go. Chef's honor!" the woman sighed.

"Dark Chefs don't have honor."

"_Pbbt!_ Such a snob, you Wonder Chefs! That's all you ever are! A bunch of snobby cooks who think you're above everyone else just 'cause you can cook a better dinner than most!" Ginger growled. Wren began struggling again.

"That's a lie! It's you Dark Chefs that are ruining the health of this world by sabotaging the food supply and teaching good cooks to ignore the needs of the people!" he shot back, "Now, let me **go**!"

"Gah! Wren, there you are! Geez, I leave you alone for just a few minutes and you get yourself into trouble again!" Caleb's voice griped loudly. Wren turned his head in surprise as Ginger's free hand dove for her hip pouch under the robe.

"Caleb! Help!" he yelled, "I found her!" The doll and mana beast were running towards him.

"I know! Pepper spotted her just a moment ago! Hey, lady! Lay off!" the redhead yelled out. In a flash, the robe and old lady guise went flying and Ginger stood, still gripping Wren by the arm as he stood beside her. In her free hand was a handful of what looked like chewy purple gels.

"Don't move! My Berry-licious Blasters will blow this entire section of the city into fine powdered sugar if you come near us!" she threatened and the people who heard cleared out instantly. Caleb came to an abrupt halt, skidding to a stop as Pepper leaped up to stop herself, wings immediately spreading to send her aloft. "Why did the Wonder Chef call you Caleb? Aren't you the former Chosen, Zelos Wilder?" Ginger asked suspiciously. Caleb swept his hand over his eyes in annoyance.

"I **look** like Zelos, but I'm **not** Zelos. Sometimes I wish I could do something about the hair and face..." he growled, "Wren, are you okay?"

"Relax. He's perfectly fine." Ginger answered for him. Wren only frowned.

"I'm a perfectly fine hostage. That's supposed to make me feel better?" he grumbled. Ginger seemed on the verge of snapping.

"Agh! Shut up! Both of you! I'm trying to explain stuff and you just keep blathering away!" she yelled and sighed. "Look, I just need to talk to Blondie here."

"Not without me." Caleb shot in.

"Fine, fine!" the woman griped, "I can't get any information on what their big plan is, but I **do** know that the Dark Chefs are going to be after a shipment of sugar and satay being sent from Meltokio to Iselia via a series of Elemental Cargos and ships."

"Why would they be after all that?" Caleb asked suspiciously.

"Probably to interfere with the peace talks the two countries are still hashing out or something. For some stupid reason, the Dark Chef Alliance loves wars. If they can cause one between Iselia and Meltokio, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla will be all over each other like icing on a freshly baked cookie." Ginger returned.

"War consumes mana. Soldiers consume or destroy food. Both cause food shortages and famine. The Dark Chefs then swoop in and use their own food supplies and cooking to control what's left after the war." Wren growled in a low voice, "The one thing that can control any country is food. _'He who holds the bounty of the land, wields all power in his hand.'_"

"_C'est la guerre._ Something like that." Ginger agreed sarcastically and finally released the Wonder Chef, watching him jump away from her, "You'd better get going to Meltokio if you want to stop the Dark Chef Alliance." Wren rubbed at his arm and looked at her strangely.

"I don't understand. Why are you helping us? The Wonder Organization and the Dark Chef Alliance are feuding families with a hatred that spans generations." he asked the spy in confusion. Ginger's cheeks turned pinkish and she looked away, an expression of false contempt on her face.

"Because** I** know you idiots won't catch onto that plot until some stupid soldier's got their sword through your gut! Now, get going and do your goody-two-shoe thing, and don't you **dare** tell anyone I told you what was going on!" she declared hotly, "And don't think I'm growing soft on you or anything! Next time, I _will_ challenge you to a cooking battle and my sweets just can't be beat!" Wren grinned at her.

"Yeah, right." he scoffed as she pulled out a handful of her special candies, hurling them down so she could disappear in the explosion of powdered sugar.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Getting to Meltokio was easy; traveling through it was hard. After having to apologize to Seles Wilder multiple times for showing up in her house without invitation and answer a multitude of questions about Genis at the same time, Caleb, Wren and Pepper then had to deal with a part of Zelos' old groupies that remained bitter about his 'break-ups'. Having soldiers and angry women after their tails encouraged new speeds in them, though they ducked into the first shop they found along the way.

"Why didn't you put on that mask and hat of yours?!" Wren cried between gasps for air. Caleb dug into his pack for the items as Pepper introduced herself to the shopkeeper just before the poor man fainted.

"I forgot I needed to hide my face. It's been a while since I needed to disguise myself." he remarked and tied his hair up in a bun with a few hairpins. "It's gonna be a bit before I'm clear to go. Can you check and be sure Pepper's not scaring anyone too badly?" Wren nodded and hurried to see if the shopkeeper was still in one piece.

Pepper was poking at the man when Wren managed to squeeze by her for a look. The store manager seemed all right, but would take time to actually wake up. The chef gave Pepper an exasperated look, which she returned with a smile and a cheerful clack.

"We really need to get you more exposure. We can't go around in every city of the world with you and leave behind a wake of passed-out citizens." Wren sighed.

"Okay, ready." Caleb announced, beret pinned in place and sunglasses hiding a good portion of his face, "I'm sorry about Seles whaling on you with her purse. I kinda forgot she uses it as one of her weapons." Wren blinked and rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Ah. That's all right. I was just surprised to see her there. That's Zelos' house; I was there as an unopened gift during the World Reunification." he explained.

"Really? Didn't know that. Well, let's go and see where the ECs that are taking over the sugar and satays are located. Then we can stake them out and jump the Dark Chefs when they show up!" Caleb remarked brightly, "This is gonna be fun! I haven't had an opportunity to let 'em have it since Flanoir!"

"We're not here to attack them, Caleb. We're here to scout and find out if Ginger's really on the level with us." the chef pointed out dryly, "The Wonder Organization works in the background of everything; we do it better than even the people of Mizuho. Why do you think the world went seven thousand years without true knowledge of us? We are considered a whispered myth to cooks, and a passing interest to anyone who happens to hear about us."

"Adam Voraci, Ninja Cook Spy."

"Ugh. That was horrible." Wren grumbled as Caleb and Pepper snickered and snorted behind hands and paws at the teasing. The chef sighed and shook his head, opting to ignore the laughter, "We do all our work in secret from the people. An all out attack on the Dark Chefs just won't do; it'll cause a panic. Besides, what are we to do if we're outnumbered?" Caleb stopped laughing and pouted.

"Spoil my fun, Wren. I was kinda hoping to practice my spells some more and Dark Chefs seem as good a bunch of targets as any." he complained and whistled, "Let's go, Pepper! Lead the way, O Chef of Shadows!" Wren frowned and whapped his arm with the Wonder Fork, face turning red with embarrassment as the doll took the blow with a laugh.

* * *

When it came to finding out what was going on in the big cities, the best place to go would be to the king himself. Since that wasn't really an option, the next best was the Cathedral of Martel's Dream, a variation of the Church of Conscience that Colette spearheaded and located in what was once the Martel Cathedral. Wren stayed outside of the building, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity with Pepper sitting nearby on guard. The mana beast went back to her old bag of tricks and neatly began impressing upon the people passing by them that she wasn't really all that interesting to look at or remember. 

"I'd like to donate satay to the gifts being sent to Iselia." Caleb told the new Pope once he was able to meet him. He took on an arrogant and imperious air, pushing his sunglasses higher on his nose. "Might you tell me the location of the Elemental Cargos that will be taking the food supplies over? I want to be sure there are enough to carry **all** of my donations." he added almost contemptuously. The Pope laughed heartily, belly shaking as he did.

"Ah, a generous young gentleman! Yes, yes, that's good!" the man chuckled and wiggled his fingers, "Ah, all donations are being stored in the food bank to the east of the Trupelos armory on the second tier of the city. They'll be taken through a gate in the back of the city to the docks near the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge, where they'll be loaded onto cargo ships and taken to Iselia. The shipment will leave Meltokio tomorrow morning."

"How very grand. I shall also see to it that those ships are of an adequate size to hold all the food I shall send the Sylvaranians." Caleb murmured, trying to keep from laughing.

"Isn't it, though?! Ah, the idea to gather food as a peace offering to Iselia was mine and the king certainly found it to be quite an ingenious one, too!" the Pope added happily, "I'm so glad to know that I'm of much more use than the old Pope!" He wiggled his fingers again, looking almost delirious with joy. "Well, I have to head off now. There's a box of my favorite chocolates in my office and I do so love my sweets! May Martel and your conscience lead you to prosperity and good health!"

"Many thanks and good day, Your Eminence." Caleb returned with the customary nod of respect as the Pope hurried off to his chambers. The doll dashed outside to meet with Wren as he sat on the steps of the church with some bread and meat in his hands. "Wren! I got the information we needed!" he exclaimed and cocked his head in confusion, "Eh? What are you doing?"

"Uh..." Wren began, face flushing as he looked up at the doll, "Well, uh... since it took so long to distill the goulash recipe, I thought it might help if I tried to invent a few dishes myself." He looked at the mix in his hands, "Sandwiches are great and all, but they can only do so much before somebody gets sick of them. So here's something that will extend the supply of bread and allow for some interesting recipes. You cut a roll halfway and stuff some meat into the fold, then add on some cheese or anything else you like." Wren examined the roll and meat combination. "Ketchup looks like it would work well, too. What do you think?" he asked.

"It looks like a wiener dog." Caleb muttered.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out what to do with the extra stuff from one of the dwarves' recipes. It said that they'd make small snack sausages out of the pork by-products, but I was hoping to be able to add something on to it all. Hmm..." Wren remarked thoughtfully as he studied the odd bit of food in his hand, "I'll keep working on it. Meantime, what'd you learn?"

"On the second tier of this city, past the Trupelos armory, is the food bank where all the donations to Iselia are being stored." Caleb reported, "From there, the Elemental Cargos will take it from the back of Meltokio to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge, where the food will be loaded onto ships bound for Iselia." He looked worried. "However, the ECs are due to leave Meltokio with the entire shipment tomorrow morning." Wren frowned, standing up as Pepper continued her mental shielding.

"I don't like the sound of that. It's just sugar and satay. I can understand the need to move quickly if it was taking over a lot of other herbs and spices, but if properly dried and stored, all of those seasonings will keep for at least a month or so." he remarked, "And the sailing from the bridge to Iselia was clocked at taking three weeks at the most by one of the Wonder Cooks."

"Factoring in the speed of the ECs and the time to travel from here to the bridge, the departure date can be pushed back at least eight more days." Caleb added in concern, "You're right; the shipment is being rushed out of here. Someone wants it sent out fast. And that's another thing that's bothering me. Why is Meltokio sending just seasonings? If this is a peace offering, why aren't they sending along other foods, even cloth and building supplies or medicines? Iselia isn't known for its great culinary conquests. They can barely work out how to avoid stuffing themselves on sandwiches!"

"We don't have time to worry over things we don't understand. All we can do is follow the Elemental Cargos and hope I have a chance at contacting the Wonder Organization to warn them about this." Wren pointed out and leaped down the steps, "Come on! Let's stake out the food bank!"

* * *

As sunset neared and the three friends watched the movements of clerics and priests around the Elemental Cargos from the top of a nearby mansion, it became clear that things weren't quite right with the mission to donate seasonings. Crates of food were loaded onto the vehicles under the watchful eye of the church members. A servant circled among them, carrying a tray that the men of cloth would often pick at. Wren squinted, then sighed irritably and sat back, rubbing his eyes. 

"I can't see anything that's really going on. This is why I use disguises, y'know. I like being up close and unnoticed when it comes to checking things out." he griped. Pepper looked over at him and whistled sympathetically before deftly swiping his chef's hat and placing it delicately on the back of her paw. Wren noticed the missing item almost immediately. "Pepper! Give me back my hat!" he yelled. The mana beast wiggled her toes and moved her mouth as if to speak, clacking almost mockingly. Caleb gazed down at the food bank's occupants, telescopic optics adjusting to study each human that buzzed around the ECs and the crates of food.

"Pepper, don't be too rough on Wren's hat. It's the only one he has that matches his travel outfit." the doll murmured absently and continued watching the church members. "Well, they're loading everything right now. I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe we were duped by Ginger after all." Wren sighed in disappointment at the doll's words.

"What a wild goose chase. And I thought for sure that..." he began to mumble when Caleb suddenly sat up straighter.

"Hold on a second! That's a Dark Chef, isn't it?! That guy there with the big blue fork?! He's not looking my way so I can see his face, but you can't mistake that outfit and utensil!" he cried. Wren blinked and looked with him, following Caleb's finger as the doll pointed out a figure issuing what looked like commands to the servant with the tray. "That spy was right! The Dark Chefs are gonna hijack the shipment of satay!"

"What?! Right _now_?!" the blonde chef exclaimed in shock.

"No, doesn't look like it. They've got Papal Knights stationed at the entrances and exits of the place, and no one's worried about a Dark Chef in their midst." Caleb answered and looked concerned, "I don't like this. I don't like it one bit." He switched back to normal vision and looked over at his friend, "You'd better get some Wonder Cooks in on this. If the Dark Chefs are gonna hijack the ECs tomorrow morning, then they'll probably do it once the shipment's out on the road. I'd say after a few hours of travel, the Elemental Cargos will be too far for the guards protecting it to call for reinforcements once the Dark Chefs **do** attack."

"All right. I'll head back to Hima. Widespread communications to the Wonder Cooks are done from the control center within the mines." Wren told him, "I'll have the Organization put out an alert. If there are any Wonder Cooks in Meltokio, they'll be ready to interfere with the Dark Chefs in a few hours."

"Pepper, give him back his hat already!" Caleb scolded the mana beast, who by now had the chef's hat perched daintily on her head as she pranced about the rooftop. She stuck out her tongue at the idea of her fun ending so soon, but picked it off her head with her paw, then plunked it down on Wren's head, smashing it flat when Pepper decided to rub his head in affection as well. Caleb smirked as he watched the blonde pull on the white fabric that seemed to have swallowed his head. "Heh heh. Sorry, Wren. Anyway, you go ahead and mobilize our backup. I'll sneak in with Pepper's help and see what's going on in the food bank itself." the doll plotted, "I want to know for sure what it is that Dark Chef is doing here; whether he's going to have the shipment taken over or poisoned or whatever."

_"Mmmph!"_ Wren muttered and finally pulled the hat off, then set it back on properly, "Uh... huh? What?" He blinked as Caleb gave him a small grin and shook his head.

"Truly a blonde." the doll murmured, "I said for you to go ahead and alert the Wonder Cooks. I'll sneak into the food bank and do a little interior investigation."

"Got it. Be careful in there." the chef told him and vanished in a burst of smoke. Caleb nodded and looked at Pepper as she began her evening preening and grooming.

"Hey, Pepper. Want to do some more stealth work?" he asked with a grin and the mana beast lifted her head, matching it with a toothy smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

The Wonder Organization was hidden deep within the mines of Hima and was only one of two secret bases built when the worlds were split by Mithos. Each one had been concealed to avoid contact with the public and records of the family's history were stored in each base. Of all the groups and peoples of both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, the Wonder Organization was one of the few that was allowed to keep its magitechnology from the past, as long as they kept up their end of the deal with Mithos Yggdrasill. As long as the Wonder Chef or his subordinate cooks did nothing to alert the worlds to their true natures or Cruxis' plans, Mithos allowed them to do as they pleased and keep their history intact. Such an offer was only made because of the legend of the Famine Lord, an entity that was responsible for a worldwide starvation that cost thousands of lives, and the heroes that ended that catastrophe. Of the three companions, one was a half-elf that earned respect among the Wonder Chef Family members as being both powerful and a dear friend. That alone was enough to earn a bit of favor from Mithos, allowing the Wonder Organization to remain intact.

Which was why, when Adam Voraci took the title of Wonder Chef and was found fine-tuning recipes to give the Heroes of Union long ago, his father began teaching him various disguises that would keep him hidden during travels and alerted him to the spell the half-elf of legend had placed on the Wonder Fork, though at the time both believed the spell was just part of the fork's nature. The worldwide communication system was also fully activated, allowing father to contact son at any time, no matter which world he was traveling through. Wren was now counting on that system to get Wonder Cooks to Meltokio as fast as possible.

"Father! I need to use the communication center's transmitter!" Wren yelled out, dashing down the hall towards the main kitchen and leaving behind a wake of startled recruits and cooks. He burst through the doors, startling several recruits as they took instruction from Estéfan Voraci, the former Wonder Chef and Wren's father. The elderly chef gave him a stern look.

"How many times have I told you **not** to do that, Adam? You've collapsed half the cakes here! And you could have just called ahead on the communicator..." he lectured. Wren cringed and shook his hand as if burned.

"Sorry! Really! But I need to get into the control center and get some of our cooks to Meltokio! The Dark Chefs are after a shipment of satays and sugar being sent to Iselia!" he blurted. The group in the kitchen gasped in shock.

"The Dark Chefs are making an attack?! Why?!" the new cooks murmured among themselves worriedly. Estéfan rushed to Wren in concern, hands already checking the young Wonder Chef for injury.

"Are you all right, Adam? Were you attacked? Did anything happen to you? I should make you something to restore your health." the elderly chef sent out a quick barrage of questions in a calm, controlled tone that could not hide the surge of worry in his eyes. Wren backed away hurriedly.

"I'm _fine!_ Really! I'm more worried about Caleb than anything else right now. I've got to get him backup before the Dark Chefs take over the shipment tomorrow!" he exclaimed, "I need to get some cooks to help him!"

"Then we'll alert the Meltokio area faction of the Wonder Cooks. In a few hours, they'll be mobilized for the defense of the food supplies." Estéfan agreed and led the way towards the heart of the headquarters, moving swiftly and easily as Wren raced after him.

* * *

Pepper whimpered dejectedly as she sat within a copse of trees and shrubs near the food bank. Caleb smiled and stroked her snout in affection. 

"I'm sorry, Pepper, but I have to do this one alone. Your bell makes more noise than you can cover up with your current level of psychic control." he told her gently, "You can still help me out by making those guards there sleep or something. You can watch my back from out here." The mana beast cocked her head in confusion. "Well, if I manage to get into trouble, then you'll know right away. Then, you can just fly in and stomp around, make all the noise you want. It'll be fun!" Caleb explained brightly. Pepper seemed to like that idea, clacking cheerfully as the doll shed the shield and spoon from his back and arm. He gave her one last pat, then carefully made his way towards the building and its small fleet of Elemental Cargos.

The moon was round and bright, making the stealthy maneuvers Caleb performed that much more difficult to pull off. Pepper kept a close watch over him from her place in the copse, green eyes peering out from the darkness to be sure no one spotted the green-clad doll as he slipped from shadow to shadow, working his way towards the door. She shifted her focus to the guards that presented the last challenge to Caleb and pooled her power together, sending each man the sudden unexplainable urge to go out and find something more interesting to do, like buy their girlfriend flowers or just find a girlfriend.

Caleb watched the two Papal Knights troop off in sync and smiled at the thought of his dear friend Pepper playing puppet-master from a distance. He scanned the area quickly, then darted for the door, opening it and slipping inside.

The food bank was a recently built warehouse for food and other charitable donations to be stored before being passed out among the more unfortunate citizens of Meltokio. It had the capacity to hold enough items to feed and cloth the whole of the Meltokio slums for two or three months. Currently, the building was filled with crates and shelves. Caleb moved along carefully, using the boxes as cover every few minutes. He checked inside one, puzzled to see it filled with blocks of metal nested in layers of straw.

"What's all this for?" he murmured and froze at the sound of voices entering the building.

"How goes the loading of the supplies?" a familiar voice asked.

"Everything's running smoothly, good sir. Ah, the shipment of sugar and satays will leave in the morning for the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge as planned." the Pope's voice answered and the sound of smacking lips followed, "Ah, you wouldn't happen to have some of those little _chocolates_ on you?"

"But of course! I'm the Master Chef, after all!" the other voice remarked cheerfully, "And you've been _such_ a good help."

"Many thanks, Master Chef. Mmm, delicious! Why is it that the Wonder Chef hasn't created such delectable little chocolates before you?" the Pope managed to say between munching sounds.

"Bah! **That** little runt? I've heard tell that he's lost his skill and focus. He probably doesn't even remember which side of the toast to butter!" Caleb frowned as he crept to get a better view of the speakers. His mind worked furiously to match the voice with an image. "**I** should have been Wonder Chef anyway!"

"Oh... yesh, yesh. I... ahgree. You're... mush better than... other guy..." the Pope slurred, mouth and fingers sticky with chocolate, "Ah, what were we talking about again?" Caleb blinked in shock as an old rival stepped forward from the shadows of the crates, short blue hair combed aside in a mirror image of Wren's own style and blue Dark Chef uniform cut and tailored as a replica of the Wonder Chef's travel clothes.

"DuGorge! Gluttonious DuGorge! What's **he **doing here?" the doll whispered.

"We were discussing the shipment schedule, you **idiot**." DuGorge growled, planting his blue-handled fork beside him in irritation. "I want **no** mistakes in the delivery of the ingredients to the home base. This is the only way we can sneak so much sugar and satay out of here right under the Wonder Chef Family's noses."

"Ah, right, right." the Pope agreed dumbly, "Have you met with that nice gentleman in the green clothes yet? He wished to donate a large amount of satay to your supply." DuGorge narrowed his eyes.

"What gentleman? What did you tell him?" he demanded to know.

"This nobleman in green clothes wanted to know where this place was so he could bring lots of sugar and satay for you. So I told him and he went on his way." the Pope explained and began sucking on his fingers, "I thought you met him already." Caleb groaned softly and shook his head.

"I forgot to tell Pepper to do a suggestion planting on this guy! Having a soul makes me more human than I like, I guess." he murmured in annoyance. He began to back away, looking around for a nearby escape.

"_You imbecile!_ Get out of my sight and make sure your knights are still guarding the doors! I can't believe you **told** someone to come here! All donations to this building are to be made at the cathedral!" DuGorge bellowed, "For all we know that could have been a spy for the Wonder Chef!"

"My deepest apologies!" the Pope yelped and hurried off. DuGorge turned to the shadows again.

"Leo! Darla! Sauri! Spread out and search this place! Make sure we don't have any unwanted guests at this little dinner party!" he ordered. Three Dark Chef grunts nodded seriously from the darkness and scattered to sweep the building.

"Looks like its time to leave this buffet of information." Caleb muttered and winced, "Ugh! Wren! You're rubbing off on me!" He made a run for the entrance he came through and halted as the Pope came in from that same door in a panic.

"My Papal Knights are gone! I didn't dismiss them!" he cried.

"That does it! There's one too many cooks in this kitchen and I'm not about to let this get ruined because of some **idiot** church-head!" DuGorge fumed and stormed into the search, "I'll find this spy myself!"

"Damn. 'Nother way out, where's another way out?" Caleb hissed and ran another way. He couldn't make contact with Pepper mentally, he didn't have that kind of bond and the mana beast hadn't figured out how to forge one from her end. She could only pull and plant mental images if she could see that Caleb or Wren allowed her to do so. The doll crouched behind another stack of crates and set his focus to calling his sister, the Goddess Martel who took Tabatha and Martel's bodies combined as a vessel.

"Hey! Who are **you**?!" a man yelled out and Caleb snapped out of his trance in shock. He looked over at the Dark Chef pointing a large metal salad fork at him like a spear. "You're not supposed to be here! Hold it right there!"

"Sorry! Gotta run!" Caleb answered and threw out a hand to draw a focus point into the air to help his aim, "But you can work on cooking through this! _Icicle!_" The aionis alloy in his body channeled the mana of the free use crystal he carried and materialized as the freezing novice spell that speared up through the floor and blocked the muscled Dark Chef from following him.

"Darla! Sauri! Master Chef! He's getting away!" the man, Leo, shouted and began stabbing at the ice with the fork. Caleb dashed on, searching for another exit. He turned a corner and halted as a woman with long violet hair spotted him.

"Hah! Hey! I found the spy! Darla! He's over here!" Sauri cried and began running after the doll, a fine gold teaspoon in her hands like a battering ram, "Don't move! I've got you cornered!"

"Man, this is just **not** my night." Caleb groaned and braced himself. As the woman neared him, he ran forward a few steps, then leaped up to flip over her, twisting in the air to avoid her sudden skidding as her spoon went up to compensate for her change in speed. The beret came loose, dragging tendrils of red hair along as he came to a landing and recovered quickly.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Sauri yelled as she began running back after him. Caleb yanked the hat free and threw it at her face, watching as she stumbled about blindly.

"Bet you didn't think I could do **that**, either." the doll taunted and unpinned the rest of the ruined bun, returning to the familiarity of his green ribbon tying back the long tresses. "You guys shouldn't quit your day jobs." he added and continued on, leaving behind the Dark Chef grunt to finally pull off the beret and look around in confusion.

* * *

Caleb stopped next to a row of crates marked with a blue fork crossing over a blue spoon. Eyeing it suspiciously, he lifted the lid of one of the crates and looked inside. Filled with packages and bottles of satays and sugar, the collection of seasonings could have easily stocked a small restaurant for weeks. Caleb set the lid back down and sat down beside it, concentrating once more. 

"Martel? Can you hear me?" he murmured and snapped out of his trance at the sound of another voice, also female.

"Sauri! Leo! I found him! Hey! You! Get away from that box!" the dark-haired grunt shouted, waving a cleaver in the air, "I'm gonna chop you good, you sneaky spy!" Caleb jumped to his feet in shock, eyes wide as he stared at the utensil.

"Goddess Martel! How did **you** get a blade?!" he cried and ran for it, "I didn't think I'd have to deal with crazy cooks with big knives when I decided to get involved!"

"Get back here!" Darla fumed and hurled the cleaver after him. Caleb yelled as the blade whistled past his head and slammed into the wall up ahead. "Stop moving!" the woman shrieked as she pulled out two more of the knives from her boots and hurled them both, "I said I'm gonna chop you up, so that's what I'm gonna do!"

"Excuse me for wanting to keep my head on my neck!" Caleb cried and ducked as the cleavers went flying by. He darted over to the next aisle and scrambled up the shelves, staring down as the woman raced by right below him with yet another cleaver in her hands. "Good Goddess, how many of those is she _carrying_?!" he murmured in horror. Once the mad Dark Chef was gone, Caleb climbed back down and checked the aisles once more before creeping off to find the exit.

* * *

The doll managed to get through enough of the building to map out the most probable places exits could be made when the three Dark Chef grunts found him again. Standing at a junction between the many aisles of crates and the wall of the food bank, Caleb blinked at the chefs standing at each end of the long halls. There was the muscle-head, Leo, standing at the aisle he just left with the salad fork in one hand and a spear of ice in his other. The doll could see the vein popping in his forehead. To his left was the crazy chef with the endless supply of cleavers, a gleeful look on her face as she tightened her grip on the two she now held. To the right was the lithe little chef with the long hair and the gold spoon. She didn't look too happy about his flying leap and flip. 

"I don't suppose we could talk about this over a cup of tea, could we?" Caleb asked nervously, forcing a smile on his face. The three chefs all shrieked in a fury and raced towards him, utensils aimed right for him. The doll bent into a crouch and waited, mind racing through calculations far faster than any human could move. Leo, Darla and Sauri were closing in on him, their voices screaming in unison as they neared the final few steps to overtaking the doll.

At the precise, predicted moment, Caleb leaped up into the air, twisted to plant his feet against the wall behind him, then rebounded far over the heads of the three chefs as they all slammed into each other and landed in a dazed heap. Landing solidly enough to crack the floor of the building, the doll let out a triumphant cry and began running down the aisle in laughter, turning the corner to follow the wall and find the exit.

"_I did it!_ I out-tricked the Dark Chefs!" Caleb crowed exultantly over his shoulder and turned his gaze back to the exit. DuGorge stood his ground midway down the aisle, an angry expression darkening his face. Caleb cried in shock and halted, "You!"

"I could say the same about you." DuGorge growled, "**You're** the one that interfered in my battle with your Wonder Chef friend! I knew you were the only one that little brat could trust to come here. But you were supposed to be **dead**!"

"I got better." Caleb returned absently, backing away from the Dark Chef.

"Tch! Let's see miso stew heal _this_!" DuGorge yelled as he threw his own steel fork ahead. It flew unusually fast, an inane thought that flashed through Caleb's mind just before it slammed into him and the force threw him against the opposite wall.

_"__Agh!"_ Caleb cried and immediately grabbed onto the neck of the giant fork holding him pinned to the building. "H-how...?!"

"I should ask that question, Chosen." DuGorge hissed darkly, walking up to him threateningly. "I got my hands on an Exsphere to increase my strengths and skills for the sole purpose of turning both you and that childish Wonder Chef into fillets. Yet here you are with my fork through your gut and _still_ _you live on_. What **are** you?" Caleb glared at him, struggling to pull out the prongs that kept him captive. It had speared through him neatly, the center spike driven through his abdomen and narrowly missing the Tri-Crystal System that powered his body and magic, while the other two prongs had slipped by his sides and buried themselves into the wall, only tearing into his jacket as they did.

"I am **not** Zelos Wilder, for Martel's sake! I only** look** like him." he growled, "I am an automated doll designed and built by the dwarven skills of Master Altessa for the purpose of becoming the vessel to the Chosen's soul when his own body had been taken over. As that duty was fulfilled long ago, my new purpose is to archive the data and all the knowledge of the world. And **you**, you lousy excuse for a fast-food assembly chef, will be _erased_ from this world soon enough!"

**"****What did you call me?!"** DuGorge snapped as the other three Dark Chef grunts finally arrived, bruised, sore and in sour moods.

"Is your hearing _failing_ you, small fry? Or are you just losing more brain cells to that gluttonous ego of yours?" Caleb mocked in a darkly pleasant tone, tapping his fingers against his arm as if the fork that trapped him was of little consequence.

"Lemme tenderize him!" Darla snarled, the metal meat tenderizers already in her hands and trembling with anticipation. Caleb gave her a semi-horrified stare. "I'll pummel out the juices of agony from his body!"

"Disgusting little..." he began and cried suddenly as DuGorge calmly planted his boot against the end of the fork's handle and pushed, the thick soles protecting him against the sharp blades decorating the handle. "**Hey!** _What the **hell **is wrong with you?!_" Caleb raged as he felt the circuitry that connected his legs to the rest of his system start to snap.

"All the knowledge of the world..." DuGorge muttered and smiled. "And knowing that you're buddy-buddy with the Wonder Chef, he must have given you total access to the Wonder Archive. All those recipes and perhaps... even the Ultimate Recipe itself... All within my grasp... Right. Here." he whispered. Caleb looked incredulous.

"The Ultimate Recipe? As _if!_ Wren would **never** entrust that piece of information to anyone but his successor! Not _even_ me...!" he declared defiantly, then trailed as he remembered how the young chef had acted in Hima. He had asked what was wrong and Wren had stammered back some answer about how his clothes made him nervous. Against a gnawing feeling that he shouldn't, Caleb ran a quick scan on his own memories, noting a time difference that didn't jive with what he remembered. There was a gap, some memory had been removed from his system, but only he himself could do that; did he learn something that he willingly purged immediately? Could it really be...? "Oh... no..." Caleb finally uttered in shock and understanding, "Wren... you didn't..." DuGorge smiled brightly and grabbed the handle of his fork, pulling it free and watching Caleb fall forward in a heap. "_Owww._ My... my legs! I can't... move my legs!"

"Can't I just pulverize him a _little_?" Darla whined as the Dark Chef leader propped his fork on his shoulder.

"No. He's holding valuable information that will finally bring down the Wonder Organization." he told her, "Take him to one of the Elemental Cargos and pack him away in one of the crates. If he can't move, he can't escape. Then have the drivers get to their places. We're changing the departure time to right now. If **he's** here, the Wonder Chef isn't very far behind."

"Right away!" the three cooks declared and grabbed Caleb by the arms, dragging him away to pack into a sturdy wooden box. DuGorge stood by and laughed to himself.

"How amusing! The entire Wonder Organization will fall into destruction because their precious Wonder Chef befriended an outsider to our war! Once I've learned the Ultimate Recipe, I'll use it on flighty little Wren and then I'll be the one, **true** Wonder Chef!" he exclaimed triumphantly, "I'll have my cake and eat it, too! With oh so many little sprinkles on top!"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm not dead or anything. This chapter is merely to let you know that I haven't given up on the TOS fandom just yet. The final chapter of HoC is roughly 50 percent done and should be uploaded by the end of the week, provided life doesn't run me over again. After that, the only stories left for the fandom will be the Wonder Chef/Caleb series and when those end, that's it. No more TOS stories from me. So, here's a little bit for Bittersweet and thanks so much for being so patient with me. HoC will be done soon. Those waiting for UoS, it's on the way as well.

* * *

Ch 4

Pepper lifted her head in sudden interest, watching the three Dark Chef grunts struggling to carry a large crate and stuff it into one of the ECs waiting outside the building. Her ears pricked forward as the crate disappeared and joined the hundreds of others in the fleet of Elemental Cargos. She cocked her head and looked to the food bank in expectation. There was no sign of danger, but no sign of good news either. Whimpering slightly, she sat back down, waiting for her guardian to come out and rejoin her. Caleb never took so long in any area by himself, so this was very worrying. She thought about probing the building, just to see if he was still working on things, but she thought of the strength of her probes when trying to get someone's attention and decided against it, figuring she might accidentally hit someone else with that force.

Up on the rooftop where he had left, Wren reappeared in a blast of smoke and looked down at the food bank. He cried out in surprise as the Elemental Cargos began to move out, motoring along in a single file line as the Papal Knights gave them clearance to leave.

"No! What's going on?! They weren't supposed to leave until the morning!" he exclaimed and hurried to a balcony on the mansion. He leaped down to it agilely, then jumped from there to another, then to the ground. "Pepper!" A copse of trees near the food bank produced a furry white head as the mana beast looked out at him and whistled in worry. Wren ran up to her and entered the copse, spotting the spoon and shield left on the ground. "Pepper, where's Caleb?! Why are the Elemental Cargos leaving _now_?! Why isn't he **stopping** this?!" he cried out in a panic. Pepper whistled in a low tone, ears drooping as she slumped in guilt. She looked over at the food bank as the last of the ECs departed. Wren followed her gaze, then burst out of the copse towards the building.

The Papal Knights saw him running and lowered their halberds, ready to meet his blind charge. Wren skidded to a halt and gulped as the group began to stomp towards him.

"Pepper! Help!" he called and the mana beast leaped out with a shriek of anger, wings spread as she planted herself beside the chef. The knights stopped in shock at the sight of such a large white beast screeching at them.

_"What's that monster?!"_ they wailed and scattered as Pepper breathed her illusory flames at them. Wren cheered and ran ahead to the building.

"Thanks, Pepper! Scan the building and let me know if Caleb's inside!" he called back and disappeared into the food bank.

The interior of the building looked almost chaotic, with crates shoved out of place and skid marks on the floor. Wren walked through the aisles, calling out Caleb's name as he searched. His anxiety over the doll's safety grew as time passed and no sign of Caleb emerged.

Finally, Wren's attention was caught by the sight of three coin-sized holes in a wall. On closer investigation, he found a strip of green cloth buried in the center hole. He pulled it free and studied it carefully.

"What in the world is...?" Wren murmured in confusion and winced suddenly as Pepper projected an image into his mind with more force than necessary. A room with only him standing in it, it was the best the mana beast could think of to express an empty building. "So Caleb's not in here at _all_? Well, where the hell could he be?! The Dark Chefs are racing out of here like...!" He stopped and stared at the green strip in growing realization. "...Like they've been found out! I recognize this green now! This is from Caleb's **coat**! And those holes are from a fork!" Wren pulled down the Wonder Fork and slid it into the impressions, "A fork built to match the Wonder Fork! Only DuGorge would be nuts enough to get one made to copy it! Whatever happened here could not have been good for Caleb!" He threw down the scrap of cloth and raced for the exit, sure now of what had happened.

* * *

Caleb kept his eyes lit on the damaged circuitry in his body as he used the tool kit in his pouch to repair them. What he couldn't salvage in his own body, the doll patched with pieces of machinery from a Cybit, bits of the drone that he had carried since he had visited the Iselia Ranch weeks ago. Each time he touched a live circuit by accident, he would receive a shock to the system and cry out painfully. The first time it happened, Caleb yelled in surprise that he could actually _feel_ that. Now, as he learned to associate the shocks with the strange sensation of extreme unpleasantness called pain, he began to understand what it really was like to be alive. 

"Why** now**, of all times?" he sighed and pulled the tool away for what he hoped would be the last time. He tried to move his legs, and cheered as they responded. They weren't at full strength but at least they moved. Caleb pressed his hands against the walls of the crate next and tested the strength of the wood. It was solid and he could hear the sounds of other crates jostled against his. Breaking out of his prison would only bring the rest of the cargo down on him, possibly doing more damage than he could repair, or worse. Resting in the makeshift nest of straw, the doll sighed in resignation and began to focus on his sister.

"Martel? Can you hear me? I need a message sent to Pepper." he called out.

_"Pepper and Adam are currently chasing after a group of Elemental Cargos that is bound for the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. I'll give them both the message."_ the goddess answered. Caleb frowned.

"What? The Cargos are in motion? Ah, that explains the movement I've been feeling." he muttered and sighed, "Well, tell them that the scheme we've uncovered is being spearheaded by DuGorge. Also, that I was kinda captured and am now being sent to the Dark Chefs' home base for interrogation."

_"Interrogation?"_

"Yeah. Somewhere along the way I _think_ I wound up with what might be the Ultimate Recipe and these guys want to poke in my brain to try and get it out. Only problem is, I don't** know** the Ultimate Recipe! I don't even know for sure that's what I erased, because I can't remember what I deleted! That's the point of it all!"

_"I'll deliver the message. Once you have the ability to do so, I want you to go to Lloyd's house and speak to him about carving a few stone settings into Pepper's bell. Then come talk to me in the meadow. I'll have a gift for you."_ Martel replied and her voice faded from Caleb. The doll shifted in the crate and sighed.

"I'm** never** traveling coach." Caleb muttered and tried to get a bit of rest.

* * *

Pepper was boiling mad at the idea that her guardian and friend had been stolen from right under her nose. After stomping about and setting the copse aflame with a larger variation of _Lethal Flora_, she projected the image of Wren riding on her back in a search and rescue to the blonde chef. 

"I know. I want to go out and rescue him, too. But, I have to stay here and wait until the other Wonder Cooks come." Wren explained. Pepper snorted and eyed his hat almost viciously. Wren yelped and held it down with one hand. "No, not again! Not the hat!" The rescue image came again. "Okay, _okay_! I'll contact Father and tell him to reroute the Wonder Cooks towards the bridge." he acquiesced, "You can be very persuasive when you want to, you know?"

_"Adam! This is Martel! Can you hear me?"_ the voice of the Spirit of the Mana Tree called out. Wren jumped and looked around warily. _"I was once called Tabatha, older sister to Caleb, remember? I have a message for you and Peppermint FireBlossom."_ Pepper clacked and seemed to calm down at the sound of her voice._"Caleb is all right for the moment. The Dark Chef Alliance is responsible for the shipment of the seasonings, which was collected under the guise of being a peace offering to Iselia."_

"So, they **weren't** going to hijack the food! They set this up so the people of Meltokio would fund them by mistake!" Wren cried in shock.

_"Yes. Caleb was captured alive only because their leader DuGorge discovered that he was an automated doll and believes he holds all of the information in the Wonder Archive, including the Ultimate Recipe you possess." _Martel went on. Wren groaned and sat back, shaking his head.

"Oh no. This is all _my_ fault, then! _**I'm**_ the one who gave him the Recipe, but Caleb erased his memory of it! He used to know it, but he doesn't anymore!" he exclaimed and looked glumly at the ground, "If I hadn't become friends with him, Caleb would never have gotten into the dangers he's in now."

_"It is __**not**__ your fault, Adam. And if you hadn't met Caleb, you would have most certainly died in Gaoracchia Forest."_ Martel scolded and sighed, _"Currently, Caleb is being taken to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge for shipment to the Dark Chef Alliance's home base, where he will be interrogated for the knowledge he possesses on the Wonder Organization."_

"Thanks for the message, Martel. Pepper! We're going to rescue Caleb!" Wren declared and dug into his own travel pack, bringing out a small disc of shining gold. He pressed his thumb against the rim and it popped open to reveal a mini-projector. "Father! It's me! I have news of the Dark Chefs!" he called. Moments later, a small projection of Estéfan appeared to hover over the base of the disc.

_"What is your situation, Adam?"_ the elderly chef asked in concern.

"The Dark Chef Alliance has taken the Elemental Cargos ahead of schedule. Have the Wonder Cooks try to intercept them before they can reach the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. They must **not** board those ships at all costs!" Wren urged.

_"Has something happened?"_

"DuGorge kidnapped Caleb to try and steal his copy of the Wonder Archive. I have to rescue him!"

_"The Dark Chefs already have a majority of our information in regards to recipes and legends. Is there something else Caleb has in his possession that would warrant a kidnapping?"_ Estéfan questioned in confusion. Wren paled and quickly shut off the projector, clapping the disc shut and stuffing it into his pack.

"If I don't speak, I can't lie." he murmured and looked up at Pepper, "Let's go, Pepper!" The mana beast knelt to let him climb on, then raced after the cooling trail of the Elemental Cargos.

* * *

DuGorge rode in one of the Cargos as it proceeded down the road to the bridge. Meltokio was already fading in the distance and he could taste the upcoming victory already. 

It was too salty.

"You call **this** filet mignon?!" he snapped at the servant who had brought him the meal, "It's not fit to feed a starving cat! Get out of my sight!" He sat back and frowned, then smiled as he remembered the extra cargo on his vehicle. "It won't matter soon anyway. Once I have the Ultimate Recipe, everything else will fall into place." After a moment of self-gloating, he looked back at the retreating city and noticed something speeding towards the fleet of ECs. "Hmm. Looks like more unwanted guests. Leo!" DuGorge ordered as he turned to the Dark Chef grunt who sat on the vehicle as a guard, "Get off here and stand watch over the road! Don't let whoever is coming get through! Do what you can to stop them!"

"Got it, Master Chef." Leo grumbled and picked up his immense salad fork, jumping off the Elemental Cargo to land in the road, unharmed amazingly enough.

Down in the cargo hold, Caleb was trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that he was shoved into a wooden crate that didn't allow much in the way of leg room. He kicked at the walls, punched at the lid, and yelled until he couldn't stand the sound of his own voice.

"Wren, Pepper, I hope you find me soon." the doll murmured.

* * *

Pepper came to a halt and blinked at the cook that blocked her way, wielding a giant fork and looking as if he wanted to run her down with it. Wren looked around her head to see what had happened and yelped at the sight of the bulky cook. 

"That's a Dark Chef agent!" he exclaimed and hopped off of the mana beast, "Leave this to me, Pepper!" He ran ahead to face the cook that stood between him and the dust cloud that marked the receding trail of Elemental Cargos.

"Master Chef says no one goes through." Leo growled, "That means you, little Wonder Cook!"

"Wonder **Chef**, you meat-head!" Wren shouted, waving his fork at the man, "Can't you tell the difference between me and the other Wonder Cooks?!"

"The Master Chef says you don't have the skills to be called the Wonder Chef. So, you're a Wonder Cook."

"That's** it**! Cooking battle! Here and now!" Wren yelled back in a fury, free hand shaking viciously at the behemoth before him, "**No one** gets away with stalling and insulting me at the same time!"

"If I out-cook you, then I'll get a real chef's hat and become second-in-command to the Dark Chef Alliance!" Leo laughed, "Okay! Then the recipe is... Okonomiyaki Explosion!" Wren scowled angrily, bringing the Wonder Fork up as a spear.

"That's one of the Wonder Recipes! How dare you defile it and turn simple pancakes into an explosive!" he yelled. The Dark Chef was already working on the preparations of the recipe. Wren quickly began his own, mind racing through the steps as he checked each ingredient in his pack for freshness and flavor. Next came the frying and cooking, done on portable metal plates for that purpose. Pepper helped Wren out by carefully feeding the flame with her breath and making sure she focused the ends of it where they would be best used.

"Now, for the duel!" Leo declared and both cooks slid the end dish onto their forks, standing back to back in the road, "Walk ten paces, turn and fire! Slowest launcher gets to be fried to a crisp in hell!"

"Fine with me." Wren muttered, _"One!"_ They walked forward one step. _"Two!"_ They walked another. The count continued as Pepper stood by with her paws over her eyes and wings trembling with anticipation. Finally, the cooks reached the tenth count, then spun around to hurl the food at one another. _"Ten! Hiiyah!" _Wren yelled and used the force of spinning to sling the dish ahead of him.

_"Booyah!"_Leo roared, launching his own with an underhand swing that sent it flying. Both dishes exploded a few seconds apart in a massive black cloud of dust and debris. Pepper shrieked, jumping back in surprise before beating her wings to blow the dark smoke and dust away. She stepped ahead gingerly as the cloud began to dissipate, searching for her friend.

Wren lay on one side just past a crater in the earth, covered in dust and slight burns. The Wonder Fork had fallen from his hand and he seemed too still and quiet for the mana beast's liking. Pepper trotted over and whistled softly, nudging the blonde's cheek daintily before giving him an experimental lick. Wren winced and blinked his eyes open, looking aside at her.

"Ouch. I never knew... okonomiyaki... could do that..." he murmured and sat up, shaking his hair free of small pebbles and dirt. He rubbed his head, winced again at the throbbing pain, then picked up the fork and walked over to Leo.

The Dark Chef agent was lying fast asleep in the road and didn't budge even after Wren kicked at his leg experimentally. Unlike Leo's straight out, brute force dish and attack, Wren opted for a recipe that would do only what he needed and nothing more. A sleep-inducing ingredient mixed into the dish coupled with the speed of the spin to launch it directly into Leo's face was all it took to knock out the big cook and throw off his aim to avoid the lethal blow. Wren grinned and gave him another small kick.

"Serves you right for messing with a Wonder Chef." he gloated and climbed back onto Pepper's back, "Let's go, Pepper! We don't have much time left!"


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

DuGorge glared at the dust cloud in the distance. Something in his gut told him that the Wonder Chef was the cause of that explosion and that Leo had failed to stop him. Or maybe it was the cream stew he had a bit ago. Either way, it was another few hours before the bridge would be in sight and he couldn't afford to have this part of his master plan ruined so soon.

"Sauri! You're next! Stop that meddling little brat of a cook! He's probably after us to get his little friend back." he ordered the lithe little cook. She nodded and leaped off the Elemental Cargo, spinning like a ballerina into the air with her long gold teaspoon acting as a flying blade in concert with her knee-length ponytail. She hovered for a few seconds, then gently landed, waiting for her opponent to come to her. DuGorge sat back and smiled, tapping his fingertips together.

"Knowing that little baby Adam is coming for this doll is proof that it **is** holding the Ultimate Recipe!" he remarked happily, "At last! I shall finally have what was denied to my family for so many generations! The Recipe that should have belonged to **us**!"

* * *

The noonday sun hung high overhead as Pepper raced to keep the line of Elemental Cargos in sight. Wren wasn't used to flying and the mana beast's flight speed wasn't as fast as her land speed, something she had worked out by playing so many games of Fetch when she was earthbound. To milk out every bit of speed she could, Pepper imagined the cargo holding Caleb hostage was a giant ball that she had to fetch for Wren. The Wonder Chef hung on tightly, eyes shut and face turned away from the wind as Pepper sped on, a white and red blur against the green of the grasses and trees.

Once again, Pepper had to stop suddenly, paws and claws digging large trenches into the earth as she came upon another Dark Chef standing before her. She gave a small shriek of annoyance as Wren dismounted to see what was going on now. The girl ahead only smiled, the spoon in her hand set into the earth like a staff that reached above her head. She was petite, smaller than Wren, and looked almost elfish.

"Agh, not _another_ one!" Wren groaned in exasperation, "Listen, you! I've got no beef with you, so get out of our way!" The Dark Chef agent laughed as she pulled out something small from her pocket.

"That's funny! Really!" she giggled and popped the item into her mouth, chewing a few times before swallowing. "I love having my Sugar Speeder candies! _You'll_ learn to hate them, though! Ready to get cooking?" Wren blinked and went defensive, bringing his fork up to block as Pepper darted aside to watch and cheer for the blonde cook.

"What are you up to, you little creep?" he murmured. The girl laughed and held her spoon horizontally.

"My name is Sauri, and you'll be **feeling** sorry soon enough! Here I come, sweetheart, don't blink!" Sauri cried and darted forward. In a flash, she seemed to dissolve into the air. Wren cried in shock, then again in pain as the back of the golden spoon slammed against his shoulders, throwing him forward. "You blinked!" He stumbled ahead a few steps, then spun around with a gasp, staring in confusion at the little cook.

"H-how?" Wren exclaimed. Sauri smiled brightly.

"I was always the fastest cook in Sybak, and my natural grace and agility let me stay on top as the fastest and best!" she replied, then took on a darkly vicious expression, "Then one day, some idiot came to Sybak and was hired at a rival restaurant to cook for them. Suddenly, **everyone** was going to him to eat! _Why?_ **I** was the fastest! **I** got everyone their dishes in record time! I could make miso stew so fast, it's still _burning_ hot when it reaches those pathetic non-chef customers!"

"A cook in Sybak...?" Wren whispered, "Could it have been... Caleb?"

"I joined the Dark Chef Alliance to prove to the world that my speed and agility in cooking makes me Queen of the Kitchen! And I'll start by using my candy-enhanced speed to turn your insides into milk pudding!" Sauri declared and ran after Wren once more.

"Candy-enhanced...?_Yow!_" the blonde cried and dodged aside as the woman slammed down the end of her spoon and vaulted into the air. She twirled in mid-air to change her direction, then shot downwards, still spinning tightly as she slammed him again. Both cooks tumbled across the earth but Sauri was the first to rise, spinning in the earth to send herself spiraling onto her feet. Wren curled up painfully, gasping as the Dark Chef raced around the clearing to regain her top speed before leaping up to slam him again.

"You've baked your last shortcake, Wonder Chef!" she laughed and dove after him. Wren waited a moment, then quickly rolled aside, letting Sauri slam into the earth as he snatched up the Wonder Fork and darted away to recuperate.

"Speed in cooking isn't everything! If you don't take time to really cook your meals and prepare them as the people wish, then your food will never be as good as it could be!" he told the girl as she struggled to climb to her feet. "You have to put your **heart** into it!"

"I'll put **your** heart into my hand and add that to my victory feast!" Sauri hissed and shot forward, swinging the teaspoon wildly. Wren yelped in surprise and brought his fork over defensively again, blocking only a few of the many strikes that pummeled him. With a sudden swing to the side, Sauri knocked the blonde chef to the ground once again, then leapt back to gain distance and speed for her final strike. "For gourmet glory, meet your Baker in the name of the DuGorge Family!" she cried and launched herself into the air for one last drill slam, her body twisting and spinning faster.

Pepper had barely made the decision to interfere with the battle when a white and gold blur shot out from the trees, leaped up after Sauri and slammed into her, sending the lithe little Dark Chef tumbling away in screams. Wren gasped painfully as he managed to sit up and take in the scene.

Standing protectively over him was a young woman in white chef's clothes, the pants replaced with a loose white skirt, knee-length boots of soft leather, and long, shimmering golden hair held back with a white barrette at the nape of her neck. In one hand she held an arm-length silver teaspoon as if it was a rapier. Though she lacked the chef's hat, it was clear that the woman was a Wonder Cook. Wren pressed a hand against his throbbing side and blinked.

_"Eve?"_ he whispered in shock as the woman turned to look at him, her bangs swept aside to hide one of a pair of large, deep blue eyes framed with elegant eyelashes. She smiled cheerfully, as if oblivious to how close the chef had been to almost certain death.

"_Buon giorno_, Twin! I bet you didn't expect to see me like this!" she exclaimed. Wren stood up, Wonder Fork in hand once more.

"Wha-... what are _you_ doing here? I thought you were still modeling in Meltokio!" he went on, unable to understand what his sister was doing in a Wonder Cook uniform. Eve winked with a giggle.

"Daddy said you needed help rescuing your friend and stopping those mean old Dark Chefs, so I suited up, grabbed a spoon and told him I was finally gonna be who I really am deep down inside!" she declared, "A dietician!" Wren's face went blank.

"A meal-planner. It's perfect for you." he muttered in a flat tone. He shook his head clear and grinned. "Well, it's great to see you've finally accepted your heritage of being a Wonder Cook! Now, let's get this speed freak and save Caleb!" he added with a thumb's-up. Sauri got to her feet and fumed at Eve.

"You little witch! _Nobody_ outspeeds **me**! I'll fry you into a tart first, then haul your has-been brother to DuGorge for a promotion to Queen of the Culinary World!" she screamed and shot after the blonde cook. Eve smiled and leaped up, somersaulting into the air before diving down to intercept Sauri, kicking her spoon aside with a downward sweep of her leg to throw her off balance.

"Get moving, Adam! I'll handle this! You have to stop the Dark Chefs from taking over the world and giving everyone fattening food!" Eve declared, looking over her shoulder at her brother. She winked and blew him a kiss, "Take that to your cute friend! Good luck and _bon appétit_!"

"_Bon appétit_, Eve! Thank you!" Wren cried and leaped onto Pepper once again, "Come on, Pepper! Hurry!" The mana beast shrieked out and raced off again, tearing up the highway as she did her best to regain lost time.

* * *

DuGorge stopped facing forward after a few minutes of watching Sauri drop out of view. The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge was just up ahead, and the half dozen ships were waiting to receive the shipments of food and supplies. Everything was almost set, but the Master Chef couldn't stand the idea that something would ruin the whole plan at the last moment. He looked over at his final lieutenant, the best of the three he had brought along on the venture.

"Darla, I want you to get off here and make sure nothing gets by you, understand?" he ordered. The woman turned and smiled at him, the same mad look she had on her face since the day her own Exsphere had been discovered to be faulty and was removed. "Nothing gets by here. **Nothing!**" DuGorge emphasized.

"This'll be fun! I get to tenderize this one, right?" Darla asked hopefully.

"Tenderize, marinade and leave overnight for roasting. Do the works, Darla, as only **you** can do!" the Dark Chef encouraged and grinned as the woman cheered and leaped off the Elemental Cargo, her cleavers in her hands. With her standing guard over the road, DuGorge felt much more secure and sat back to relax, smiling at the victory that would soon be his.

--

Down in the cargo hold, Caleb was pressing the Sorcerer's Ring Altessa had made for him against the wall of the crate. Firing its tiny flames continuously, the doll was slowly burning a hole in the wood. What he hoped to accomplish doing so was beyond him, but it was _something_ to do.

* * *

Pepper gave an annoyed shriek as she halted once again, glaring at the woman standing before her with sharp cleavers in her hands. Wren sighed as he slid down to face the new opponent.

"Look, I've dealt with the first brute, my sister is dealing with Sauri... why don't you just step aside and let us pass?" he told the Dark Chef agent. The woman was smiling. Her expression hadn't changed as Wren spoke, which was slightly unnerving. "Um, ma'am? Did you hear what I said?" Wren called out. She kept smiling and Wren grew anxious for some kind of response. "Miss?" he tried again.

"The Master Chef said nothing passes me. I get to tenderize you! I love working with fresh meat." Darla finally remarked with a happy laugh, "I live to tenderize and chop meat up real good!" Wren blinked and stepped back cautiously.

"Oh great, a butcher. And a creepy one, too." he muttered, "So, what are you called?"

"Darla! Name's Darla, and I'm gonna chop you good!" the woman screamed and hurled both cleavers at him. Wren yelled in shock and darted aside as Pepper went airborne to avoid the blades. "Hold still! Meat turns gamey when they run!" Darla shouted as she whipped out more of the large knives and began throwing them one after another.

"Yahh! Stop!" Wren wailed, racing around to dodge the cleavers and assorted other knives the woman had in excess. Pepper set herself down and watched in shock as the mad woman ran after Wren, throwing all kinds of sharp things at him, from chef's knives to pizza cutters. Most of the blades were missing him entirely, but one nicked his arm and Wren halted to check the damage.

"Now, let's chop you into bite-sized bits!" Darla laughed as she ran for him, a butcher knife in one fist. Pepper shrieked and threw her Ascension power at her, holding Darla back as she delved into her mind to change her target. Something strange, something that the mana beast could only think of as a bubble, suddenly bounced her power off. In shock, Pepper jumped back, blinking as Wren bolted at the sound of her shriek, narrowly dodging Darla's attack. Pepper snorted and went back to focusing on the woman as she continued racing after the Wonder Chef, hurling a fresh wave of cleavers and knives after him. Again that strange bubble surrounding Darla's form pushed back. Pouting, the mana beast tried it again, sending her power up against the bubble in an attempt to not only figure out what this weird thing was that definitely did **not** belong, but also make it go away. The bubble pushed harder, then suddenly seemed to expand and swallow Pepper up.

* * *

Pepper found herself standing on a dusty landscape in a world of utter darkness, blinking in surprise. **This** had never happened before. She checked her limbs, swished her tail, flapped her wings and wiggled her ears. Everything seemed to work. Confused, the mana beast walked on, sniffing around in hopes of finding something familiar.

Up ahead was something dark and ominous. Pepper's fur began rising on end as she lifted her head in concern. There was something here that didn't belong. Something that was making this world so dark. She could feel it all around her. As Pepper continued walking, the something ominous that was giving her the strange feeling was pooling together. She stretched her psychic powers and tentatively searched the area ahead of her.

After a moment of poking, it became clear to the mana beast that this wasn't anywhere near where she was supposed to be. She looked around, then slowly lifted her eyes above her, blinking at the mass of inky black and shimmering blue that was forming itself into a dragon twice her size. Pepper whimpered as she stepped back slowly, watching as the dragon flapped and hovered above her, eyeing her almost predatorily. She remembered the first time she had to battle a dragon; it had been smaller than this one, but just as mean-looking, and the battle that finally subdued it had nearly killed her as well as her two friends. She'd used _Mana Light_ and her own claws, and in the end it took three head-on charges to bring it down. Even then, with all their strength poured into fighting, she, Wren and Caleb had only managed to put the wyvern to sleep, not kill it. How could she handle something far bigger than anything she'd ever had to face before, _alone_?

Before she could come up with any thoughts or plans, the dark dragon uttered a feral scream and dove straight for the mana beast. With a startled cry, Pepper leaped back from the first attack and retaliated with _Mana Light_, piercing the darkness as she aimed the bursts of light for the weak spots she hoped were there. The black dragon pulled itself from the ground as if flowing away, then materialized to attack again. This time, instead of diving for her, it remained airborne, unleashing a beam of intense blue light right at her. Pepper raced aside from it, mind speeding through what she could do to attack again. She tried another burst of _Mana Light_ and the dragon zipped aside, dodging it as the stream of blue light flowed on from its maw, ripping into the dark earth.

This wasn't going to work out. Pepper made her annoyed sound, half-hiss and half-growl, as she studied the dragon hovering overhead, the light attack ceasing for the moment. It fired the beam again, soaring towards her as it dug a wide path into the ground. There was a weakness there, Pepper just had to find it. A moment later, she had it. The dragon's back was open as long as it continued to use that steady stream of blue fire. In a flash, Pepper was in the air as well, shooting towards the dragon's exposed spine as it tried to stop its breath and bring itself around to defend its rear, its reflexes slowed from spewing the light that tore through the barren land of this strange reality. Claws and teeth sank into iron-hard scale as the mana beast struggled to bring down the strange specter that had haunted her at night. The two fought viciously until the dragon suddenly melted away from Pepper's grip and flowed back into the air, reforming. Pepper shot after it again, but as soon as the dragon was back in her grip, it only melted and escaped her claws. She yelled in a fury and fired _Mana Light_ wildly, letting her anger control her aim. The dragon only seemed to feed off of her rage and, before she could realize it, it had slammed into Pepper from what seemed like all sides at once, a barrage of powerful charges that felt as if they would turn her bones to shards.

Pepper dropped to the ground and stood weakly after a few moments of dazed pain, shaking her head as she tried to understand what had just happened. The dragon hovered overhead, the corners of its jaws seemed to curl into a cruel smile. The mana beast looked up at it tiredly. What was she doing wrong? Why was this thing so hard to beat? She'd attacked it just like the _other_ dragon! _It_ fell, so why wouldn't **this** one just fall, too? She cried in anger as she pawed at the ground.

All of this was **wrong**. No matter what she thought up to use on the creature, it only seemed to read her intentions and find some way of eluding attack. And its own attacks on her seemed to hurt much more than they should. But her wounds only flickered with pain before just disappearing into her fur as if they never existed. She scanned the sky, blinked up at the churning darkness that seemed almost a part of the black dragon that screamed in victory above her. The colors made her think of the strange bubble surrounding Darla, black and shimmering blue. Pepper directed her psychic energy outwards, searching the skies and the earth for something that would give her a clue to where she really was. As the mana beast pressed all around her, it finally occurred to her what was wrong with the world.

There was no mana.

This _place_ was nothing but illusion, a place where she and that cursed dragon could exist and battle with attacks that used large amounts of mana, without actually using **any** mana at all. A world where mana did not exist, where her invincible opponent was a recreation of her secret fears and nightmares. This was her memory of Moria, used against her.

This was an outside force turning her own power **against** her.

Turning back to the black dragon that seemed to be engulfing the dark sky, Pepper let out a shriek of realization and fury, focusing the full brunt of her power for one final blow. A blow that would free her from her own mental prison.

_"Enlightenment!"_

Pepper erupted into a burst of brilliant white light so large and powerful it completely dominated the landscape, swallowing the darkness, the black dragon that sought to escape, and even herself. The illusory dragon shrieked in fury and pain as the expanding light shredded through its defenses and finally burned it to nothing, stretching far back through it to the original source of the madness that had tried to trick Pepper.

Followed it all the way back to Darla.

* * *

Pepper snapped out of her trance and sat down in shock as Darla suddenly cried out and fell forward in a heap, dazed. The Wonder Chef halted his mad dash but looked ready to run at any moment, afraid of what would happen next. His hand gripped the cut on his arm, stopping the scarlet that spread on his sleeve and was his only injury. After a moment, Darla groaned and sat up, rubbing her head.

"What happened? I feel like someone threw me in a blender..." she moaned and looked around, then at herself. "Um?"

"Are you okay? Have you come to your senses?" Wren asked carefully. Darla blinked up at him.

"I... think so. I don't quite know what I've been doing all this time. Do you?" she questioned. Wren managed a grin.

"Uh, you've been acting strangely for a while, but you're going to be fine now. My friend Pepper over there must have healed you." he told her. Darla looked back at the mana beast, who only smiled and waved a paw at her. "Do you know that you're a Dark Chef?"

"Am I?" the woman asked and looked at her clothes, "Huh. I guess I am. I don't suppose this means I was doing anyone any good? Man, and I just wanted a job with benefits!"

"Are you good with cooking _anything_?" Wren asked. Darla shook her head, "So how'd you get involved with the Dark Chefs?"

"I was trying to get a job at a restaurant and when I didn't get it, I was approached by a chef in blue clothes who asked if I wanted to make it big as a chef lieutenant. Since I had nothing else better to do, I said yeah and here I am." she answered and frowned. "I think I'll quit. Cooking is hard." She smiled suddenly. "But I've always wanted to have a little farm and grow stuff. Maybe I'll be a farmer!"

"Uh, yes. You do that." Wren agreed with a forced grin, unsure of how the whole battle had ended. He sighed at last and wrote out a recipe. "Take this along and have a cook make this for you. It'll help you regain your strength. I have to go and catch up to your old boss." he added.

"Okay, no prob." Darla answered, accepting the paper, "Just be careful! That guy's pretty strong now that he's got an Exsphere!" Wren looked startled.

"An Exsphere? How did DuGorge get an Exsphere?" he murmured and stood, racing towards Pepper, "Let's go! We don't have much time left! The Elemental Cargos must have reached the bridge by now!"


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge was indeed covered in Dark Chefs as the ECs arrived. They hurried to the vehicles and began unloading the ingredients as fast as possible, carting crates of sugar and satays up to the ships. DuGorge stood by, watching anxiously as the boxes were loaded bit by bit. Along with the food were crates of Meltokio steel and iron, supplies that would help fuel the growing number of Dark Chefs for the day the final showdown with the Wonder Organization would arrive. In one of them was the most precious cargo of all, the automatic doll that carried the secret Ultimate Recipe, the key to victory. Caleb was now pounding viciously on the crate, his patience finally worn hair-thin. He'd made the attempt to break through the wood the moment he detected the crate's movement from within the Elemental Cargo into open air, but the Master Chef had thought ahead. His crate was reinforced with Meltokio steel bands criss-crossing each side of the container. In cramped quarters, without the full power of his legs to back up the strength of his arms, Caleb couldn't gather enough force to burst out to freedom.

"Let me out of this! You can't get the Ultimate Recipe from me! I don't know what it is! I'm telling the truth! Let me go!" he yelled from the myriad of little holes he had burned into the walls of the crate. DuGorge managed a confident laugh as he walked up to the crate that held Caleb captive.

"Don't feed me that thin soup of a story! I **know** you've got the Ultimate Recipe! That's the only reason why the Wonder Chef would bother running to your rescue without the aid of his little Wonder Cook buddies!" he sneered.

"What? That **idiot**! I told him not to do anything without back-up first!"

"Too late to do anything now! I just had Darla go back to deal with that little blonde brat. The Wonder Chef is finally toast!"

"Wren! If you've done _anything_ to hurt Wren...!" Caleb raged, struggling harder. DuGorge only laughed and rapped his knuckles against the reinforced wooden box. Half of the shipment of materials were loaded onto the ships when Wonder Cooks suddenly began to pour into the area on the backs of dozens of tour dragons, jumping off and launching a whole banquet's worth of okonomiyaki and sleeping potion-filled dumplings. Hordes of Dark Chefs were put to sleep before they could assemble a retaliation.

"What's this? What's going on?" DuGorge fumed as Pepper dashed onto the scene and Wren leaped off of her back. The blonde ran to where the Master Chef stood, yelling orders, and stood before him. "_You? _**You're** supposed to be tenderloin by now! What happened to Darla? And my other lieutenants?" DuGorge snapped at him. Wren held the Wonder Fork before him threateningly.

"All three of them have been taken out by me and my friends! Now, release Caleb! Tell me where he is!" he demanded. The Master Chef looked around frantically, then leaped back from him.

"Ginger! Do something about him!" he ordered and a burst of powdered sugar revealed the raven-haired spy standing beside him.

"If you say so, Master Chef." Ginger murmured and pulled out a handful of candies. She turned to the transport dragons that had been loading boxes and crates onto the ships. "Have some of my Spicy Cinnamon Jelly Beans! Roast the Wonder Chef!" she declared as she hurled out the round red candies. The transport dragons gobbled and snatched them out of the air, then glowed an eerie red as they stomped towards Wren. The young chef backed up warily, confusion on his face.

"Wh-what?! Ginger, I thought-!" he cried.

"That I would go _easy_ on you the next time we met?!" the candy-maker retorted, "As if! What made you think I was **ever** going to let you get off insulting confectioners?!" She snapped her fingers and the dragons blasted fire, forcing Wren back away from her, DuGorge and the crate with Caleb in it. "You're toast, Wonder Chef!"

"Good work, Ginger! Now grab that crate and let's get out of here!" DuGorge declared and raced for one of the ships. Ginger hesitated for a moment as Wren looked at her in disappointment, then dropped a small bag, turned and followed the Master Chef onboard.

"Dragons! Feed!" she yelled at him from the deck before disappearing once more. The ships set sail immediately, leaving behind the other Dark Chef agents to stall the Wonder Cooks and a third of the total supply crates that were supposed to go to the Dark Chef Alliance.

Wren dodged the flames of the group of dragons, then made his way to the bag that was abandoned. Snatching it up before the fire could consume it, the blonde rolled away from the creatures and peered into it. The bag was filled with small blue beans. As the Wonder Cooks busied themselves with chasing away the Dark Chefs and repossessing the rest of the crates, Wren picked out one of the beans and bit into it out of curiosity. A bitterly cold liquid spurted out, stinging his teeth and forcing him to spit out what he had managed to taste.

"So cold." he murmured, shivering. He blinked as he remembered Ginger's parting words. "Could it be? She wasn't telling the dragons to eat me; she was telling me to feed **these** to the dragons!" he cried and looked up as the dragons closed in on him, ready to blast fire and finish him off. He grabbed a handful of the beans and threw them at the creatures. "Here! Eat this!" Eagerly, the dragons gulped down the frozen treats, then cried in shock and fell on one another, steam escaping from their mouths and nostrils as they lay in a daze. He looked around, saw that things were finally coming under control and began to walk among the crates, depressed.

"Wonder Chef!" one of the younger cooks cried as she ran up to greet the blonde. Wren sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. "Sir, we've rounded up most of the Dark Chefs and taken away their utensils, but Master Chef DuGorge escaped with a large portion of the ingredients and materials."

"And Caleb, it seems. I wasn't able to rescue him after all." Wren sighed as he watched the Wonder Cooks pry open crates with their forks. "I don't know what's going to happen to him now." He blinked when he saw one of the Wonder Cooks poke at a crate that bounced and rocked about crazily. "What the-?"

"Let me out! I'm telling you I don't **know** anything! What's going on? I heard explosions! If you stupid Dark Chefs do anything to hurt my friends...!" Caleb's voice raged on. Wren brightened and raced to stand before the crate as he signaled two other cooks to open it from the sides. The lid popped off and Caleb burst out of the straw, arms poised to cast a spell. "Burn! _Fire-_!" The blonde chef firmly whapped him on the head with the Wonder Fork, "Ow! Dammit! That's not **fair**! This takes concentration, y'know!" The doll rubbed his head more out of annoyance than pain, glaring at Wren. "What was **that** for?" he demanded once he saw he was among friends.

"Getting yourself into trouble. I thought DuGorge escaped with you onboard his ship!" Wren exclaimed, "Sheesh! But I'm glad to see you're okay. You **are** okay, right?" Caleb laughed sheepishly, still rubbing his head.

"Ah, yeah. I was more worried about you. How did you manage to get by those three goons DuGorge sent after you?" he asked and noticed the stain on the travel shirt's sleeve, "Guess you didn't. Lemme guess. Darla?"

"I only got nicked a little." Wren answered defensively, "Anyway, even with everyone here, the Dark Chefs got away with almost all of the donated sugar and satays, as well as some of the Meltokio steel."

"It couldn't be helped. DuGorge had this one planned out too well, and we caught on too late." Caleb told him, "Forget it for now. We should get to someplace safe and recover." The other Wonder Cooks agreed as Wren looked around him.

"Yes. You should take his advice, Wonder Chef. We'll take care of taking these crates back to Meltokio. You should head there with this gentleman and rest." one of the older cooks told him. Wren shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Caleb, where are we going next?" he asked the doll. The redhead gave him a strange look.

"_'We'_? I thought **I** told **you** to go back to your duties as Wonder Chef." he pointed out flatly. Wren made a face.

"And **I** said I had permission to travel. If I choose to travel with you, then that's my problem." he returned, "So even if you tell me not to, then I'll just travel by going to the same places you do."

"Stalker." Caleb muttered with a grin, "Okay, fine. I'm headed back to Lloyd's place. Martel says Pepper needs to have some stone settings engraved on her bell. Then, we'll head to the Yggdrasill Tree to see what Martel wants to give me. After that, we're going to the Tower of Mana."

"More seal searching for ancient knowledge, huh?" Wren laughed. Caleb nodded brightly as he climbed out of the crate and dusted himself off. "I suppose it makes sense. The Tower of Mana will help Pepper train."

"And you might find some more recipes there while you're working on mastering the dwarven ones." the doll added and laughed as Pepper trotted up and gave him a wet kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Pepper! Thanks to the both of you for coming to rescue me. I really appreciate it."

"All right then. We know where to go, so let's go!" Wren cheered happily. The elder cook that had spoken earlier held up a sheet of paper.

"If you are on your way, Wonder Chef, then take this with you. We've distilled two more of the dwarven recipes and modified one for your use. The first one is called bacon, the second is fudge brownie. The fudge brownies were difficult to work out, but we managed to modify it so that it will act like a super glue." he explained as Wren accepted the sheet and studied it carefully, "Also, eating a fudge brownie will restore a moderate amount of mana for spells, so it should be useful for mages and other spell-casters." The cook scratched his head and hesitated for a moment. "Ah, I suppose I should also mention that the Council of Gourmet Chefs is trying to petition for your denouncement."

_"What?!"_ Wren exclaimed in shock as Caleb and Pepper looked stunned by the news. The elder cook spread his hands helplessly.

"The Organization is still divided despite your successful return to Hima with these new recipes. There are those who agree with the Council that you should be replaced immediately, citing that you've done nothing but endanger the Wonder Organization since the day you became Wonder Chef." he explained and looked around secretively, "There are some cooks here who are of that mind, and they will surely report this to the Council as additional evidence of your... ineffectiveness... as Wonder Chef."

"_Endanger?!_ If it weren't for Wren, the Organization would still be going back and forth between divided worlds, or worse, just not exist at **all** once Mithos had his way with the people of Symphonia!" Caleb hissed as Wren groaned softly and rubbed his head at the new turn of events. "It was because he taught those recipes to the Heroes of Union that they maintained the health and stamina they needed to take on that insane angel!"

"Caleb, quiet. I'm trying to think." Wren told him and turned back to the cook, "How many of the Wonder Cooks are siding with the Council?"

"We think it's about two hundred, maybe more." the elderly cook replied as the blonde chef inhaled sharply, "There are rumors that they're searching for a new Wonder Chef successor, and it's not Duke Bryant. They won't even acknowledge him because **you** discovered his talents." The other cooks gathered around him nodded in agreement, worried expressions on their faces.

"Does my father know about this?" Wren asked in concern, "Will my family be safe there in Hima?"

"We've alerted him to the fact that the Council of Gourmet Chefs was not pleased with your return, but he's refusing to abandon headquarters. As long as you are Wonder Chef, the Council won't dare to harm them." the cook assured him. Wren sighed again and shook his head in frustration. When had the Wonder Organization fallen to the pettiness of political bickering and back-stabbing? It was founded on the ideals of protecting _everyone_, and now it was on the verge of crumbling because a handful of chefs were striving for more power. _He who holds the bounty of the land, wields all power in his hand._ The saying his father taught him since childhood echoed in Wren's mind. If he wasn't careful, the Wonder Organization would be destroyed from the inside and all the Dark Chef Alliance would have to do was just sit back and enjoy the show.

"Wren? What do we do about this? If what he says is true then shouldn't you go back to defend your position again?" Caleb murmured. The Wonder Chef opened his eyes and shook his head emphatically.

"No. That's probably what they want me to do. As long as I'm traveling, the Council won't be able to track me down to do anything to me. It's when I'm confined within the walls of the Hima mines that they could make a move on me." Wren told him seriously. The other cooks looked aghast.

"Sir?! You mean... _assassination_?" another of the members asked in disbelief, "Are you _sure_?" Wren shook his head again.

"Not entirely, but I wouldn't put it beyond the Council to stick me on another quest with every intention of it killing me." he pointed out, "They know what happened to me in Moria, right? They weren't too happy that Caleb and Pepper saved me down there."

"Then stay with us. We'll keep you safe again." the doll urged. The other cooks agreed wholeheartedly, promising to keep in touch and update him on the condition of the Council's growing support towards his banishment.

"My thoughts exactly." the blonde remarked and held out the Wonder Fork as Caleb and Pepper stood by him. "Now, let's go to Lloyd's house! _Bon appétit_, everyone, and make sure the pot doesn't boil over! We haven't maintained the Organization for seven thousand years just to have it fall apart in a matter of months!" he declared and the group vanished in a blast of white smoke.

* * *

Evening was settled over the Aurion household when the three friends arrived. Three swordsmen heads were glaring at the heap from the top of the stairwell as Wren sat by Caleb, who was half-pinned under Pepper. The doll was drumming his fingers on the wood floor, arm propping him up and resting against his cheek.

"I thought I told you to change teleportation spots." Caleb grumbled. Wren smiled sheepishly at him.

"Heh. Sorry." he apologized.

"At least you're breaking up the monotony." Kratos muttered.

After several minutes of apology and explanations, the group came to an understanding. Lloyd examined Pepper's bell as Zelos chewed on the bacon strips Wren tested out in the kitchen. Kratos dozed off sometime after it all, resting his chin on the tabletop.

"How many stone settings should I carve into it?" Lloyd finally asked as he turned it over in his hands.

"Well, there are ten Summon Spirits, right? So ten settings should do the trick. Pepper needs to gain the powers of the other mana beast clans." Caleb pointed out. The swordsman brightened.

"Pepper's gonna make pacts with the Summon Spirits?" he asked.

"No. Not really." the doll sighed. He rubbed his head and looked at his friend. Wren was staring at the other redhead as he kept nibbling at the strip of meat.

"Well? How is it?" Wren asked. Zelos gave it another nibble, then put the bacon back on the plate.

"Weird. What is it again?"

"Bacon."

"Is it supposed to be burned?"

Wren returned to the kitchen for another try. Caleb sighed and returned to watching Lloyd.

"I'll have the bell done by morning. There's a guest house out back you can have for the night." Lloyd muttered, studying the bell. Caleb thanked him, then left, hoping Wren didn't do anything drastic to the original redhead.

--

The next day, Caleb returned for the bell and blinked at the plates of bacon and goulash littering the table. Lloyd sat at one end with the completed bell, waiting and grinning at the scene before him. Wren looked exhausted where he sat, studying Zelos as he nibbled at another strip of bacon. Caleb blinked again, then frowned.

"Zelos! Knock it off and actually **taste** the damn thing already!" he snapped. The other redhead grumbled and ate the strip.

"It tastes perfect. Like everything else the Wonder Chef makes... if he were having a crappy-ass day." he remarked sarcastically. Wren slowly blinked, head propped on one arm resting on the table.

"If I could move... I'd hit you..." he murmured softly, half-asleep already.

"Good morning, Caleb! I finished the bell!" Lloyd announced brightly. The doll accepted the newly engraved bell with thanks.

"So, where's Kratos? I've been meaning to tell him that I found his sword in Moria." Caleb added, looking around.

"He went to Iselia to pick up a few things. Did you bring the Excalibur and the Topaz Ring?" Zelos asked hopefully. Caleb shook his head, raising an eyebrow at the mention of the Topaz Ring being lost. "Why not?"

"**You** try getting a shiny sword while a dragon is trying to kill you and your two best friends. Then tell me how easy it was for you, sans angel powers!" the doll growled. He walked over and picked up Wren by the waist, holding him under his arm like a sack of flour as the chef dozed off. "Well. Thank you for your help. I'm off to see Martel. What will you guys be doing?"

"Returning to our journey. Zelos finally gave us the okay to go back to collecting Exspheres, after he gave us an earful for giving Noishe the spaghetti." Lloyd answered. Caleb winced.

"Ah, yeah. About your journey... do you collect Cruxis Crystals, too?" he asked hesitantly. The two angels looked at one another in confusion.

"Hadn't thought of that but I guess, yeah. Cruxis Crystals are complicated, though. I mean, we both have one and we're not sure what will happen if we gave them up." Zelos answered uncertainly, rubbing his chin at the idea, "We're Symphonian angels, so we technically don't need them, but we're not sure if losing them means we'd lose some amount of our lives or something. They took human lives to become what they are, so eventually we're going to have to lay them to rest."

"Yeah, well. If there's a crystal out there that didn't take a human life to evolve, would you still take it?" Caleb pressed. The two angels blinked.

"I don't think so. Why?" Lloyd asked, puzzled by the strange questions.

"No reason! Well, see ya!" Caleb answered cheerfully and raced out the door with the Wonder Chef in tow.

* * *

Martel gave both men her best scowl. Caleb and Wren blinked at her, then at each other. They shrugged in confusion.

"We had baths this time." Caleb said defensively.

"I used soap." Wren added in a small voice. Martel's eye twitched.

"You two are just like _children_!" she growled between her teeth, "How is it that I have all the patience in the world to deal with Lloyd but whenever I have to deal with **you two**, it all evaporates into the air?" The two friends laughed nervously. "I feel like a mother... I don't have _time_ to be your replacement mother! I'm the Guardian of the Yggdrasill Tree! It's already bad enough that the people keep calling me their Goddess!"

"It was very good soap." Wren tried to placate her. Martel huffed and stamped her staff into the ground, using her power to rejuvenate both men.

"You **know** I can't keep doing that just for you two. It looks like I'm playing favorites." the goddess scolded, then softened, "But I'm happy to see you both are well, and in far better condition than the last time you pulled this stunt on me."

"How's Genis doing?" Caleb asked as the half-elf boy ran up to greet them excitedly.

"Caleb! Wren! Great to see you! I got a ton of information down about mana beasts! Want a copy?" he exclaimed. The doll nodded and accepted the papers Genis held out, speeding through the notes and sketches as he recorded them in memory.

"Wow, you learned a lot!" Caleb remarked after handing them back, "Are you going to be an expert on mana beasts?"

"Maybe, but there's lots more for me to learn. I'm gonna try to study everything in the world!" Genis answered with a laugh and ran off to see what else was happening in the meadow. Martel gave Caleb a wry smile.

"He's very enthusiastic about all this. Sometimes to the point of testing Orator's patience, but they haven't killed each other so I suppose that should be a good sign. At least they can talk to each other when Genis isn't taking notes on mana beast diets." she sighed and held out her hand, "Now, about that gift I promised you. Here." A small charm materialized in her hand, shaped like a miniature Eternal Sword. "I asked Origin if he could make this for you. It's not quite the same strength as the true Eternal Sword, but it has enough power to take you to Derris-Kharlan and back _once_." Martel pinned the tiny sword to Caleb's jacket. "When you're ready to go to Derris-Kharlan, place your hand over the pin and tell it your wish. Remember to say exactly what you want, the Eternal Sword and this charm both are very precise artifacts."

"Thank you, Martel, and Origin, too. Once I've completed my study on the Summon Spirit Seals, I'll head for Derris-Kharlan." Caleb told her, "Wish us luck!"

"I wish you both **sense**, but I suppose luck will have to do." the goddess muttered under her breath as the two men and Pepper vanished once more in a burst of smoke.

* * *

"Asgard?!" Caleb yelled once the three friends managed to get out of Linar and Aisha's house without causing more damage than they did to the Mirage in Triet, "You had to warp us to **Asgard**?!"

"I forgot I had a teleportation spot in Luin. It wouldn't have done any good anyway. It was set for old Luin, not the new one Lloyd helped build. The mana signature is different." Wren grumbled defensively. Pepper drew some startled looks as they walked down the paths that would lead them out of the city. She only smiled brightly and waved a paw at them, scaring a few back into their homes.

"Well, then, we're just gonna have to stop by there and have you **make** one so this kind of thing doesn't happen **again**." Caleb growled irritably as the blonde made a face. Pepper trailed off, following the scent of someone cooking a delicious meal. She was due for a snack anyway. Licking her lips, she trotted onto another path and plunked herself down by a cook who was too absorbed in what he was doing to notice her. She whistled at him and the cook finally looked up, blinked, then yelled in shock.

"Agh! A monster!" he cried, scattering still more people as Pepper ignored him and sniffed at the pot of bubbling soup, smiling cheerfully at the scent of mixed vegetables, satays and meats. The cook blinked and looked wary. "You're not gonna eat me?" he asked as Pepper clacked and looked at him expectantly, "You want to eat some soup?"

"At least I know if anything's happening with the Dark Chefs or the Council, I will definitely be alerted by my father or one of the Wonder Cooks still supporting me." Wren sighed, "I just hope this all doesn't blow up in my face one way or another." Caleb stopped suddenly and looked around in concern.

"Hey, where'd Pepper go? Wasn't she following us?" he asked as he searched the area. Wren blinked and scanned the city as well.

"Yeah, where is she? Pepper?" he called out and sniffed at the air, "That smell... Someone's trying to cook something weird..."

"Where there's someone cooking, there's Pepper. Wren, follow that smell!" Caleb declared and raced back the way they came.

"Do I have to? It's kinda making me dizzy." the chef complained, following the doll anyway.

--

Pepper was tasting the soup as the two other friends arrived on the scene. She licked the bowl clean, waited a moment, then wrinkled her face in disappointment. The cook watched her reaction, then tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"I suppose it can't be helped. I guess I'm missing some of the ingredients, and I still don't have that frying pan." he muttered.

"**Peppermint FireBlossom!** _What_ are you doing running off like that?!" Caleb shouted as the mana beast winced and looked back at him, ears pulled down and shoulders hunched as she tried to look cute and sorry at the same time. The doll frowned and reprimanded her, "Don't give me that! Did you scare this poor cook? Did she scare you, sir? I'm sorry if she did."

"No, not after I learned she just wanted to try my stew." the cook replied absently, still focused on the contents of his pot. "It's not quite doing what it's supposed to, I think." Both Caleb and Wren peered into the pot, blinking at the bubbling brew.

"It doesn't look very appetizing." Caleb muttered as one of the bubbles popped with a splash of broth.

"What exactly is it _supposed_ to be?" Wren added under his breath, "A stew for warding off bad spirits?" He thought about that. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually. It might work."

"Who are you people anyway? And stay out of my stew! You might throw off the balance." the cook grumbled. Both men jumped and looked annoyed.

"I'm Caleb. These are my friends, Pepper and Wren." the doll replied, "And you should be a little nicer to people. Never know when you might run into a celebrity or two." The cook finally looked up at them in confusion.

"Celebrity? Like a Hero of Union? Are you two Heroes of Union?" he asked.

"No, but you never know." Caleb answered, "So, what were you trying to cook? Maybe Wren can help you with it." The blonde nodded.

"Sure! I'm the Wonder Chef, after all!" he pointed out. The other cook blinked.

"**You're** the Wonder Chef?" he asked blankly. Wren nodded. "Oh. In that case..." He grabbed the ladle and whapped the blonde on the head.

"_Ow!_ Hey! What was **that** for?" Wren griped, rubbing his head. The cook whapped him again and Wren pulled his hand away, shaking it painfully. "Hey! Cut that out!"

"That's for insulting my cooking! I've been looking for you every place I go!" the man yelled, whapping him once more.

"Ow! But... ow! I... ow! I didn't... ow! Insult... ow! Your... ow! Cooking... ow!" Wren yelped at each knock on the head. Caleb calmly reached out and snapped the wooden ladle in two with his fingers. The cook looked startled, then scowled at Caleb.

"Hey, stay out of this! This is cook business!" he growled. The doll confronted the glare with a steady look.

"It's **my** business, too. I'm a Wonder Guard." he returned. Wren blinked at him in confusion, rubbing his head with the unhurt hand.

"What's a Wonder Guard?" both he and the other cook asked in unison.

"Me." Caleb simply answered, "Now, why do you think my friend, Wren, here would insult your cooking?"

"I went to Palmacosta to further my training as a chef for the Cool Breeze. It was there that I got a small time job as a cook for the local Palmacosta Academy until I finished my training." the cook went on, miffed, "Then I heard the Wonder Chef was seen wandering in the harbor, so I sent a messenger boy along with a bowl of my best stew to see how I fared. It was a busy day, else I would have gone myself. When the messenger returned, he said the Wonder Chef said my stew tasted like boiled _shoes_! I've spent three **years** searching for a way to get revenge, even to the point of cooking the best recipe in the world!"

"Which would be...?" Caleb inquired.

"Which else? The Ultimate Recipe!" the cook declared, and frowned at his cooking pot. "But I only got some of the Legendary Ingredients, and without the Legendary Frying Pan, it doesn't work." He huffed. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'll just even the score by taking it out on Blondie!"

"I never **got** any soup in Palmacosta. I spent my whole time there in the academy, waiting for Lloyd's group." Wren protested, "And I never wandered in the open! Father was too afraid Mithos would yank me out of the worlds if I was seen in public."

"There, you see? Wren never insulted you." Caleb pointed out. The cook didn't seem convinced.

"Of course you'd believe **him**. You work for him!" he snapped and grabbed a fresh ladle, resuming the raps on the head, "You better take back what you said and tell everyone here I'm the best cook in Asgard, or I'm not gonna stop following you for life!" Caleb sighed as Wren yelped painfully.

"This wasn't what I had in mind when I worried Wren would run into a **hit**-man." the doll muttered as Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head, one paw pressed to her cheek in an expression of exasperation.

* * *

After a night's rest at one of the less expensive inns, the three friends resumed their journey to the Tower of Mana, this time trailed by the angry cook from Asgard as they raced to gain distance from him. Caleb ran alongside Pepper, who carried Wren on her back as they fled the City of Ruins.

"Are you _sure_ you didn't taste that guy's soup?" he yelled up as they made good time down the road to Luin. Wren nodded, then yelled out the affirmation. "Then why in the world would he think **you** were the one who insulted him?"

"I don't know! Maybe I've got an imposter somewhere!" he called back.

"Well, if he was in Palmacosta, then he's dead now! That should be fine enough revenge for that half-baked cook!" Caleb exclaimed and grimaced, "Wren! Your puns are rubbing off on me!"

"They're not all lemons, y'know!"

--

It took a few hours of running, but once they reached Lake Umacy, Caleb called it quits and they rested by the lake. Pepper preened by the shore, using the surface of the water as a mirror. Caleb sat under one of the trees, writing in the journal he had bought a lifetime ago when he still lived with Altessa as a servant. Wren pulled up water from the lake and set to boiling it to make supper as the sun began to descend over the hills of Asgard.

"Practicing another recipe?" Caleb asked without looking up from his book.

"Yup. I'm going to get this goulash right even if it means I have to use up **every** last scrap of meat in our packs!" the Wonder Chef declared and began to sort through the ingredients, "Now, can you tell me what a Wonder Guard really is?"

"Ugh, I hoped you'd forget I said that." Caleb muttered, hiding behind his journal, "I figured if I'm going to have to keep protecting your butt this whole trip, then at least I should have a cool title to go with the job."

"Hey, sometimes **I** save **you**!" Wren yelled, waving a spoon in the air for emphasis, "Does that make me an Automated Doll Guard?"

"No, it makes you look needy." Caleb taunted and earned a frying pan hurled his way. He grabbed it before it could hit and sniffed. "You have to do better than that, Wren."

"Pepper, don't you have anything to add to this?" Wren cried to the mana beast, "I'm not needy!" Pepper only looked at them both, then rolled onto her back with all four limbs in the air, looking at them expectantly. The blonde's face fell as Caleb laughed, rolling about on the ground. "Pepper! That's not helping!"

--

Night passed quickly and once morning rose, the group was back on the road to Luin. They kept up the same breakneck pace as before, all in efforts to make sure the Asgard cook couldn't ever catch up. Once they reached the city, Caleb dragged the blonde around the town in search of a good teleportation spot. The citizens of Luin stared in shock at Pepper and didn't relax until a few of the kids ran up to pet and feed her fruits, excited to see the 'giant kitty'. One of the kids brought along a cat to meet Pepper. The two men walked on as she stayed behind to play.

"Kitty!" the kids all exclaimed cheerfully to Pepper. The real cat meowed and she looked at it in surprise. This was an interesting sound, different from the noises the kids and her friends made. One of the children brought out a treat and fed it to the cat. Pepper's eyes lit up. The sound meant the creature wanted food and it got some! She tried to meow and the sound spooked the cat, sending it tearing off towards a safe haven and the children jumping in shock. Pepper looked around in confusion. No treat. Maybe it worked differently for her?

Caleb and Wren came back for her a few minutes later, apologizing to people who had been startled by her appearance. Pepper perked up and trotted to them. She meowed at them, hoping it would earn her a treat. The two men looked at each other in confusion.

"Did she just...?" Caleb asked as Wren nodded. "Pepper, you're not a cat. Meowing isn't really what you do." The mana beast sighed, ears drooping disappointedly. "You're trying to learn how to communicate with us, huh?" the doll asked sympathetically, "If only you could speak our language like Orator can. Then Wren wouldn't have to worry about nosebleeds anymore." The blonde shot him a glare.

"I heard that." he growled as Caleb grinned sheepishly back at him. "Let's get going to the Tower of Mana. I've heard that there used to be a large library in the first room." Wren suggested, shrugging off the jab, "And I'd like to stay out of public view for now. I don't know all the Wonder Cooks that might be in Luin, and some of them might be on the Council's side." Caleb nodded as he rubbed Pepper's snout affectionately.

"Good point. Once we have the information stored in the tower, we'll move on to the next seal, Balacruf Mausoleum." he agreed. Wren shivered and made a face.

"_Ugh._ I don't like places where there are dead people." the young chef muttered as they made their way out of town.

"Be glad I didn't say we would go there when you dropped us in Asgard." Caleb told him.


	7. Chapter 7

Epilogue

DuGorge was not pleased with the failures that kept stacking up for him once he returned to the Dark Chefs' secret base in Tethe'alla. Leo and Sauri returned on transport dragons, both battered from their lost battles against both Adam and Eve Voraci. Darla had disappeared without a trace, DuGorge lost several tons of good Meltokio steel that he actually paid for, and the doll was lost to him, too. He threw a fit that forced his lieutenants to run for their quarters.

"This is going to push back production and preparation for at **least** another season." DuGorge steamed as Ginger stood by him in his office, filing her nails in boredom. "Isn't there anything **else** you can get from the Wonder Organization, Ginger?"

"Nope. There's nothing new." she replied and gazed off into the distance, "And security's been heightened around the entrances to the Wonder Organization Headquarters. They won't let even the Wonder Chef appear too close to them."

"Then track down that little brat and his friend, and get that Recipe out of them one way or another! You were trained for that sort of thing; **do it!**" DuGorge snapped at her. Ginger rolled her eyes and pushed away from the desk.

"Okay, _fine_! I'll tail them and see what I can swipe, but I'm not making any promises. The doll may be easy to manipulate with the right carrot dangling in front of his nose, but the Wonder Chef isn't as easy to mess with. Not after that Flanoir fiasco and our recent disaster." she warned. DuGorge waved her away as he studied the papers on his desk and muttered irritably to himself.

--

Heading down the corridor of the base, Ginger thought to herself as she considered everything she had been learning. The Dark Chef Alliance was up to something big that, oddly enough, she wasn't fully aware of; everything that was being collected were the basic ingredients in making sweets and desserts; and the Wonder Organization has been acting more erratic than usual. All signs pointed to a catalyst that was definitely messing with the order of things; a catalyst named Gluttonious DuGorge. She stopped at the end of the hall and waited in the shadows, her cape pulled around to hide her. Unlike DuGorge, who wore the bright red cape to mimic the Wonder Chef, hers was a dark shade of navy blue meant to blend into dark corners.

After a few minutes of waiting, she was rewarded with the sight of the Master Chef leaving his office. Once he was well out of the way, Ginger made her way back to the room and picked her way into it with the nail file she'd been using. She began her search for the notes on DuGorge's plans in his desk, sifting through papers and small recipe cards.

"Let's see, the steel goes to equipping the cooks with top of the line utensils... iron for the many cauldrons and pans... the sugar and satays are for..." Ginger murmured and paused in shock. Her voice just seemed to fail as she reread the checklist. Numbly, she picked up another sheet and compared the two lists. "Not just satay. This stuff too. All of it is going together." she murmured softly and clenched her hands together, crumpling the two papers in her fists. "They can't possibly do this... not to all those..." She closed her eyes, thought on what her family had taught her, the faces in her memory who would remain only memories as Ozette had been wiped from the world. "This will **not** happen." she hissed, glaring at her fistfuls of paper, "I will **NOT** let this be what destroys me and my family!"

Ginger left the office in ruins, her Berry-licious Bombers turning the entire room into smoldering ashes. Alarms sounded as Dark Chef agents poured into the halls, searching for the source of the commotion. Even DuGorge was back on the scene, racing to see what had happened. He stopped before the office, the startled expression on his face illuminated by the flames that shot from within the room.

"**Who is responsible for this?**" he demanded, looking around at the cooks that scattered to find out who had caused the explosion. The spy stood at the end of the hall, glaring hatefully at the Master Chef until he noticed her. "You? How **dare** you turn on us, Candy-Maker!" he hissed and signaled the other Dark Chefs, "Get her! Don't just stand there roasting your marshmallows! Get that traitor and bring her to me!" The agents flooded after Ginger in a wave, and she dashed down the hall towards the transport dragon pen. She threw handfuls of candies over her shoulder, masking her escape routes with clouds of flour and powdered sugar. The crowd of agents halted their chase, coughing and choking on the clouds as they lost their direction in the thick white smoke.

"That's it! No more of these lies, no more of the espionage! No more risking others in this centuries-old family feud!" Ginger growled to herself as she darted into the pens, hopped onto a dragon and flew from the base as fast as it could go, leaving behind the Master Chef to glare at her receding form.

--

The dragon made its way to a nearby mountain, where Ginger had it land on the summit, then dismounted. She pulled the hat from her head, growling almost viciously at everything it represented, at the idea that she once stood for it and supported the twisted cause it harbored.

"I freaking _quit_! There's no **way** I can keep working for an ego-maniacal idiot out to destroy **everything**!" Ginger finally shrieked and hurled the hat to the winds. Following its fate, her dark blue fork was thrown over the cliff. The spy ripped off her cape, screaming in a fury as she ripped away the buttons and badges of office. Moments later, the dragon made its way to Hima, the best place to start the search for Wren and Caleb, leaving behind the shredded remnants of a Dark Chef uniform.

* * *

The Tower of Mana had been reduced to a crater and a half tower. Caleb sighed as he looked down at it. It was just like the Triet Ruins in the desert, but this time he'd have to make his way down through the top of the tower to reach the bottom level where the books were located. Wren blinked and stepped back, shaking his head.

"I'm not going in there. It's too unstable." he remarked flatly.

"Chicken." Caleb muttered as he began to make his way down the pit towards the tower. Pepper followed after him, her mind still on the idea of learning to speak in a way that the two men she traveled with could understand. Wren scowled, then began his own trek down the crater after them.

"I am **not**! I'm just a lot more cautious than you are." he said defensively.

"_Suuuure_ you are. You're cautious about everything except when it comes to girls." Caleb remarked with a grin as he reached the bottom with Pepper and began clearing away an entry. Wren turned red.

"Caleb! Not _this_ again!" he exclaimed.

"All this running around to stop DuGorge... you know you only did it 'cause you wanted to see _her_ again." the doll went on, "Which would have been all fine and good if she'd been anyone **other** than a spy for the Dark Chef Alliance. Man, you pick the _lousiest_ chicks!"

"I didn't do it **just** to see Ginger! I did it to save the world!" Wren yelled as Pepper joined in with tossing aside rubble.

"And yet DuGorge got away with the stuff."

"Not **all** of it! And I would have had him if...!" Wren shouted and then sighed glumly, "I would have had him if Ginger hadn't come in and sicced those dragons on me."

"Hmm. I suppose this means we really _can't _trust her. She keeps luring us into traps." Caleb mused as a doorway began to open for him. "We should avoid her from now on."

"But she also gave me the candies that stopped the dragons!" Wren protested, "Doesn't that count for _something_?"

"You are **such** a virgin." Caleb sighed with a shake of his head. The entrance was cleared and he peeked inside. "Looks messy, but we can still work our way down from here to find that library." He looked back at the blonde, who stood fuming behind him, and frowned. "Wren, think about it for a second. She tells you what DuGorge is doing so you can go and stop him. Then she shows up and turns on you when you think you've got an easy victory. Then, when DuGorge is about to win, she turns on him on the sly and lets you get away. But she still runs off with them to do it again later." he chided, trying to get his friend to see things logically, "What does that tell you?"

"That she needs my help to understand who the real bad guys are!" Wren told him firmly. "And stop calling me a virgin!"

"Fine. Then you're an **idiot**. It means she's playing the Dark Chef Alliance and the Wonder Organization both like a couple of saps. It's all just a game to her." Caleb shot back in annoyance and grabbed a lantern from the pack, lighting it. He held it up and sighed again, giving his companion a more sympathetic expression. "And when things become a game, there's always a loser in it. Don't be that loser, Wren. Don't let Ginger play with your mind... or your heart. It's games like that that take people's lives." he added softly.

"This is all too confusing. If she's just doing that, then why join the Dark Chefs? Why be a member of one of the groups she's _'playing'_ with?" Wren questioned as he followed Caleb into the tower, Pepper picking up the rear as she sniffed at the walls and structures.

"Maybe it makes the game more fun? Who knows? Just stay away from her from now on." Caleb answered sternly as they began the walk down the long, winding stairs to the bottom level, careful to watch for broken steps and crumbling debris that sifted down from overhead. He glanced up at the cracks that snaked along the walls and ceiling, then softened his tone. "Everyone, keep as quiet as possible. We don't want to cause a cave in." Wren looked glumly at his shoes as he followed the doll down the steps.

Maybe Caleb was right and Ginger wasn't looking to be rescued from her fate as a Dark Chef agent. But why else would she go to the trouble of searching them out to give them valuable information? And she **did** give him the jelly beans that stopped the transport dragons from frying him to a well-done crisp. But it **was** Ginger who made the dragons go after him to begin with, and all under DuGorge's command... So whose side was she really on?

"Miss Candy-Maker. Maybe if we had a cooking duel, I'll find out what you're really after." Wren murmured, "But I have to find out why my cooking isn't as up to par as it used to be. What is it that I'm _missing_? Once I know, then I can stop **all** of DuGorge's plans, once and for all." Caleb glanced back at him and smiled briefly before returning to the quest at hand, the archival of the seals of Symphonia.

The End


End file.
